It Will Rain
by ejjcullen
Summary: They've loved each other forever.  Grew up together and experience everything together. When she left, he never did.  Now as she moves on he finds he can't.  What will he do? Rated M for language & lemons.
1. Chapter 1

*Disclaimer, I own nothing.

It Will Rain

By: EJJCullen

I pulled off the main road and onto the driveway leading to my parent's house. I passed the two lion statues at the end of the drive and the house came into view. Every time I come home I am amazed at the beauty that is my parent's house. Growing up in it was a different story. I grew up wanting for nothing, but was raised to appreciate all that I had and to not take anything for granted. I was often embarrassed growing up in a large home situated on a spacious lot when most of my friends lived in town in smaller homes. My parents had wanted to put me in private schools, but I was adamant about not being separated from my best friend when it came time to enroll in school.

The driveway was a little over a mile long and was line with cherry blossom trees that were a spectacular sight during the spring when they were in full bloom and absolutely breathtaking during the winter months when my mother would carefully decorate them with white, twinkling Christmas lights. Since it was the last weekend in September I knew that I would be asked by my mother to assist in the process of hanging said lights during my stay.

I slowed to a stop as I approached the main house. It had never changed in the twenty eight years that my parents lived in it. It was a three story white house with a large wrap around porch. The walk way was lined with solar powered lights that cast a glow along the front path leading to the front door. In between each light was a potted plant that reflected the season – they were currently filled with red, orange and yellow mums. Off to the right of the front door were two white, wicker rocking chairs that my sister and I would sit in while talking for hours. Something I avoided a lot lately.

Parking in front of the four car garage, I turned the engine off and took a deep breath slowly exhaling in order to help myself relax. I was accosted with memories every time I visited my parents. Today would be no different. I slowly exited my Aston Martin and leaned against the door taking another breath before finally pushing off and walking around the back of the house to the back door clicking on the alarm over my shoulder as the 'chirp, chirp' echoed in the silence around me.

I entered the back door, closing it quietly behind me as I toed off my shoes and shrugged out of my black, leather jacket hanging it on the hook beside the others. I recognized my mothers tan trench coat and my sisters Northface jacket on the hooks beside mine. Placing my shoes in the boot tray beneath the coat hooks I took another calming breath. I dropped my keys onto the glass tray on the accent table as I made my way into the house.

Walking down the hall towards the kitchen I could hear the voices of my mother and sister as the talked excitedly about something. Both sides of the hallway were decorated with large black and white framed photos of my sister and me over the years. I laughed at the one just outside my father's office, it was Alice and I dressed in jeans and matching Fork's High sweatshirts in our back yard. We were supposed to be raking the leaves per my mother's request, but had ended up throwing handfuls of leaves at each other after I got frustrated with my sisters constant teasing. The photo captured us laughing as leaves fell all around us. My heart tightened at the memory – I remember exactly what she was teasing me about and I suddenly found it difficult to breath.

I glanced into my father's office knowing full well that he would not be home this early. It was only a few minutes after 5pm on Friday evening and I knew that he would not grace us with his presence until at least 7pm. His shift at the hospital was over at 6pm, but he would always tie up loose ends before heading home for the weekend. The office was dark except for a small reading lamp that was on in the corner. I remember playing in his office as a child – it was one of my favorite rooms in the house and when I was in trouble it was the first place I would hide. Beneath the massive cherry desk was where I would go when my mother called my name in 'that tone' – the one where she used my full name and the usual sweet tenor of her voice turned hard. Standing in the doorway, I glanced at the bookshelves that lined the entire left wall. They held countless medical books and a few random picture frames filled with Alice and me during family vacations.

The voices of my mother and sister once again caught my attention as I continued on my way to the kitchen. They were seated at the island looking at something in Alice's hand with their back to me, unaware of my presence.

"Next September," my sister said, "that will be a beautiful time of year, I wonder if she will ask me to be a bridesmaid?" She giggled softly

"Alice lets not get ahead of ourselves here." My mother chided, as she placed a hand on my sisters shoulder.

"What do you think Edward will do?" Alice asked.

"I'm not…" my mother started.

"What do you think Edward will do about what?" I interrupted, making both women jump and turn at the sound of my voice. They quickly exchanged nervous looks.

"Um," my mother paused. It was so unlike her to be nervous about anything that I was suddenly fearful about what the two women were talking about. Alice slowly slid off the stool she was sitting on and thrust a piece of paper at me.

"This" she said as I looked down at the paper she had pushed into my hand. "What?" she said as she met my mother's eyes. "He is going to find out eventually, might as well get this over with."

I felt the bile rise in my throat as I read over the elegantly scripted words on the black invitation. The words were centered in the middle of a large engagement ring with a diamond and the words '_Engagement Party'_ across the top.

_Jacob popped the question_

_Isabella said 'yes'_

_Now its time to celebrate_

_Please be our guest_

_Cocktails, dinner and dessert honoring_

_Isabella Swan and Jacob Black_

_Saturday, December 3rd at Six o'clock_

_At the Swan Residence_

_Given by Renee and Charlie Swan_

I read the words over at least three times. My chest felt tighter and tighter each time. I couldn't breath. I lifted my head to meet Alice's watery gaze. I opened my mouth, but no words came out. I dropped the invitation to the floor and turned swiftly running back to retrieve my shoes and coat pulling them on quickly before storming out of the house. I was back in my car in the blink of an eye. I threw the car into drive and sped out of the driveway to the sounds of my mother and sister calling out my name.

**What do you think so far? Feedback is always welcome.**


	2. Chapter 2

***Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

It Will Rain

By: EJJCullen

Isabella Swan was the first person I met when my family decided to make the move to Forks. I, of course, had no recollection of this seeing as I was a whopping 8 months old at the time. My mother would tell me time and time again how Isabella and I locked eyes the first time we met and it was love ever since. She doesn't say that anymore around me though.

My parents lived in Seattle when they first got married. My father was an up and coming surgeon and my mother was an interior decorator. They lived in a penthouse near the waterfront and, having both come from money, never wanted for anything. They were surprised when six months after having me they discovered that they were pregnant again. With a growing family to think about, my mother decided to put her career on hold and focused on being a housewife and mother. They quickly decided to move to the suburbs and after a lot of looking decided to go ahead and build a house of their own in Forks.

My mother scouted out spots and fell in love with the 15 acre lot where our house currently sits. It took over a year and a half to build the home and decorate it to my mothers liking, but we moved into the house just in time to celebrate my sister's first birthday.

The day I met Isabella was when my mother was still in the planning process and was in Forks gather permits and meeting with contractors to begin the building venture. We were sitting in a little diner in the center of town when Renee and Isabella entered to have lunch. They sat at the table next to us. Our mothers quickly began chatting about how old we were and what milestones each of us had conquered in the months since our birth. They became fast friends and since we were moving to Forks, the women exchanged numbers. My mother quickly scooped me up and joined Renee at her table. Isabella and I sat across from each other in wooden highchairs. She was one month younger than me almost to the day.

From the stories our mothers shared with us over the years, it would appear that Isabella and I never said a word or made a sound for the entirety of the lunch. We simply stared at each other. Our mothers met each week to have lunch from then on and any time that my mom was in Forks to meet with someone she would drop me off to play with Isabella. Now they just have lunch once a month.

Isabella and I were together constantly, and Alice quickly joined our playdates when she was old enough. We rotated houses once we moved to Forks and our weekly playdates quickly turned into daily occurrences as we got older. When it came time to enroll in Kindergarten my parents contemplated putting me in a private school just outside of Port Angels. I cried when they told me I would be going to a different school than Isabella. I didn't want to go to school without her. We did everything together. We learned to ride bikes, tie our shoe laces, read and write together. When my mother saw how much the idea of not being in her class affected me, she quickly changed her mind on private school.

We made other friends when we went to school, but Isabella was still my best friend and I was hers. We would pick each other first for everything. And our mothers would ooh and aah every time we would play 'house' and I would take on the role of dad, Isabella would be mom, and Alice would be our baby. That went on for several years.

Our friendship was an easy one and we barely fought. When we did fight it was short lived and we quickly put it behind us and moved on. We would kiss and make up as if nothing ever happened. One of those moments was captured on film – the picture still hangs in the living room of our house. It hurts to look at it now. We were about four – playing on the driveway with chalk. The exact details are a little fuzzy and I can't remember who started the fight, but we were mid kiss when the picture was taken. I am seated on the driveway and Isabella is on her knees leaning into me as I lean into her. Our eyes are shut and our lips are pressed together as each of us grips our sidewalk chalk in our chubby hands.

_Engaged_.

She was engaged now. I couldn't think straight. It was never supposed to be like this. We were meant to be together.

I was speeding through a back road that led down to the beach of La Push when the blue and red lights reflected in my rear view mirror.

Fuck. I mumbled as I looked down at the speedometer that showed I was going well over the speed limit. It sure as hell didn't feel like I was going 90mph. I pulled off to the side of the road and threw the car in park. I lowered my window and heard the crunch of the gravel as the officer approached my car. I kept my eyes forward as he stopped at my door and squatted down to my level.

"Going a little fast, don't you think Edward?" I closed my eyes and took a breath before I turned to see Charlie Swan smiling at me. He had his sunglasses pulled to the edge of his nose and was staring straight at me. His eyes softened slightly when my eyes met his. "I uh…I guess…you saw the invitation." He said while rubbing the back of his neck with his hand and lowering his eyes to the ground.

"Yeah." I whispered. My lungs ached and it was as if I couldn't take a full breath, like I had been punched in the stomach. My chest just wouldn't, couldn't expand to accommodate the need for air. It was hard enough to just be…the tear in my chest was once again ripped open. It had been slowly scabbing over as the years had passed, but never fully healed. I don't think it ever would.

"Try to keep it under 80mph son," Charlie said as he stood up and placed a heavy hand onto my shoulder, squeezing it slightly, before turning and walking back to the cruiser behind me. The lights stopped and he turned around slowly before heading back in the opposite direction, glancing nervously in the rearview mirror, as if he was afraid to leave me alone.

I sat for a moment dazed.

_Son._ Charlie still called me son. He always had, ever since we were little. Now the word felt like a slap in the face.

My mind flashed back to last time that Charlie pulled me over…

I had been drinking with Emmett at Newton's Pub. It was almost six years ago. We had been throwing back shot after shot of Jack Daniels. The amber whiskey burned as it slid easily down my throat. Emmett was just trying to help, thinking that by giving me enough to drink that I might actually break down and tell him what had happened. I hadn't spoken about it to anyone. All anyone knew is that Bella was in New York, and I was here. New York had never been on the table. We were supposed to finish up at Middlebury and come home – move to Seattle, we had been planning it since we were sixteen. I slammed the shot glass down on the bar as the bartender looked on with a worried expression.

Rosalie showed up a few minutes later. She had come to pick up Emmett and me at the bar, it was almost 2am and as she walked up to us she put her arm around Emmett's shoulders and looked at me. I excused myself to go outside for a cigarette. Rosalie had looked at me with such pity I couldn't stand it. They all did…Mom, Dad, Renee, Charlie, Emmett, Rosalie, and especially Alice.

I sat on the wooden bench outside the bar and lit up my cigarette. _She_ would have thrown a fit if she saw me smoking, maybe that's why I bought the pack at the gas station on the way to the bar. As I sat there taking drag after drag it began to rain. I instant thought of _her_. The smell of the rain always made me think of her. The wet asphalt smell filled my lungs and I just had to get away from it. I dropped the cigarette and stumbled to my Wrangler. I stalled twice before I finally pulled out of the parking lot, head to the beach. The rain was falling lightly and I was on the back road approaching La Push when the lights swirled, casting everything into a haze of red and blue. I didn't even pull off the road. I just parked right where I was.

Charlie had approached the jeep in the same way he had today, minus the sunglasses and squatting. The jeep tires were huge and meant for off-roading, so Charlie was eye level with me as he stood on the side of the vehicle.

"Going a little fast, don't you think Edward?" he said. "You're lucky it was me that pulled you over instead of Sam." I didn't feel very lucky though. I felt empty and utterly devastated. He leaned into the jeep and turned the keys, killing the engine. "Son, why don't I just take you home?"

"I'm never going to be your son, Charlie." I said as my shoulders slumped and the tears just poured from me. "She left, she wasn't supposed to leave."

"I know son, I know". He opened the door and pulled me from the jeep. I just hung onto his shoulder and cried like a baby. "She will come back Edward, you just have to give her some time."

"She…she said it was over. She wouldn't even look at me." I cried. He led me to his car and helped me into the passenger side. He closed the door and I leaned my head against the cool glass. He went back to the jeep and moved if off the road and onto a patch of gravel off to the side of the road. By the time he came back to the car I was asleep.

"He's a mess," I heard him say.

"I know, he won't talk to us about it. We know he is hurting, it's written all over his face. I just hope that she will come home." My parents were just outside the car talking about me to Charlie. "Thank you so much for bringing him home Charlie. I don't know what he was thinking driving off in the state he's in. It won't happen again."

My father helped me out of the car and into the house where he lay me down in my bed. My mother took off my shoes and tucked a blanket around me. They left whispering words back and forth that I couldn't make out. It was the only night that I didn't dream of her.

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	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

It Will Rain

By: EJJCullen

A week later I was sitting in my office looking at the Swan/Black engagement announcement that had been posted in the local paper. There was a small blurb about the couples engagement and wedding plans along with a black and white photo of the two. It was a professional looking photo – Isabella and Jacob were wearing sickeningly similar outfits of dark colored shirts and light colored pants that were rolled up to mid-calf as they stood on rocks, hand in hand as a wave crashed behind them outlining them with the spray of water. It was a familiar spot and a beach I visited the day I saw the invitation.

"_Isabella Swan and Jacob Black happily announce their engagement. Jacob, originally from Connecticut, and Isabella, originally from Washington, currently reside in New York City. The two began dating their senior year at Middlebury College and will be returning to Washington next Fall."_

Senior year? I laughed without humor. Funny, she had always denied being involved with him up until we returned to Forks after graduation. It was then that the truth finally came out and she ran off to New York.

I always knew she would break my heart. I even told her she would the summer that everything changed. We had just finished our freshman year of high school and Isabella was going to go to Phoenix for a few weeks with her mother to visit her grandmother and ultimately move her into a nursing home community. Renee had suggested she bring a friend along to keep her company, because she would be at the nursing home setting her mother up and didn't want her daughter to be bored. Renee rolled her eyes when Isabella had said my name without hesitation. Isabella finally relented and asked Alice to go with her. I was jealous. Alice would get to have 5 weeks of uninterrupted time with Isabella and I would be stuck in Forks, alone.

I wasn't really alone, I had Emmett. We had been on the same soccer team since second grade and hung out as friends over the years. Over the five weeks that Isabella was gone I missed her like crazy. We would talk on the phone every few days, but it wasn't the same. This had been the longest amount of time that we had ever spent apart. Emmett and I went to the beach almost every day and it was then that girls had started to get my attention. A bunch of the girls in our year would join us at the beach. Emmett would show off in front of them and flirted like crazy with Rosalie until he finally asked her out. Rosalie had never really gone through the awkward stage that some of the other girls did, she gracefully developed overnight. Emmett was quick to point it out to me on a daily basis. They went on a few dates and after three weeks decided to be 'boyfriend' and 'girlfriend'.

Emmett always teased me for not asking Isabella out, but we just didn't see each other that way. She was my best friend. But by the middle of July when she finally came home it was as if a switch had been flipped inside of me. Alice and Isabella showed up at the beach the day they came home and my mouth literally dropped at the sight of her. I saw her everyday, but she had never looked this way before. Her hair fell just below her shoulders in mahogany waves, her legs looked longer, hips slightly curvier, and her chest filled out the pale blue bikini she was wearing perfectly. Her skin was a bronze hue from the time spent outdoors in Phoenix and when she spoke to me I couldn't drag my eyes away from her full pouty lips.

I had to awkwardly adjust myself in my board shorts and made an excuse to go swimming to clear my head. I was floating on my back enjoying the feel of the waves pushing me up and down as they made their way to the shore thinking that Isabella had never made me feel that way before. I didn't know how to handle this, so I began avoiding her. We hardly did anything just the two of us after that. I always included Alice or Emmett when we had plans together.

The night of my fifteenth birthday she stayed for dinner and cake to celebrate with me and my family. Afterwards we all watched a movie. My Mom and Dad had headed off to bed and after Isabella and Alice exchanged a few glances towards one another Alice disappeared as well.

"Edward," she said as she turned to me from the end of the couch. "I wanted to give you your birthday gift now if that ok."

"Uh, yeah, sure that's ok." I said, once again feeling awkward about our close proximity.

"Close your eyes." She whispered. I did as she said – sitting with my right leg tucked under me and my left elbow resting on the arm of the couch I closed my eyes. I heard her shuffle towards me and felt the dip of the couch cushion just before her hand rested on my thigh. I flinched at the feel of her hand on me.

"Bella…" I began, but my words were quickly cut short as her lips pressed against mine. I was shocked, and as I opened my mouth to gasp, she slid her tongue delicately along my bottom lip. My body reacted instantly to her and acting without thought, my hands flew to her, cupping her shoulders, squeezing tightly before pulling her closer. Her chest pressed against mine as I slid my tongue out meeting hers in the process. We moaned into each others mouths at the feel of our tongues rubbing languidly.

Feeling bold, I began to lean further into her, slowly pushing her to lie back onto the couch as my body pressed onto her. To feel her body against mine was unlike anything else. It just felt so natural to have her so close. She fit perfectly against me – her curves molding into me. Panting through our noses so not to break our mouths apart, I lowered my right hand from her shoulder to her hip and squeezed gently. My thumb rested on the sliver of exposed skin between her jeans and t-shirt. I rubbed my thumb in a circular motion and felt her skin react instantly, breaking out into goosebumps.

Her hips rose slightly to press against mine earning a moan of approval from her as she felt how much her kiss was affecting me. I felt embarrassed at first being hard as a rock against her. My body acted on its own, my brain shut down from the high of being with her this way. Hearing her moan spurred me on further and I grabbed her thigh with my left hand wrapping her leg around my waist as I settled myself against her.

"God, Bella." I said through pants as our hips began to swivel together. She moaned again and pulled me closer while lifting her hips to rub against me. I could feel her heat as it stroked against me through our jeans. My body felt as if it was on overdrive with the fire that burned through my veins causing my skin to tingle with satisfaction. She bucked her hips in time with mine meeting me thrust for thrust. The seams of our jeans hitting us both in spots that caused a delicious friction.

"Oh Edward!" she called out softly as her eyes slowly rolled back, clearly enjoying this as much as I was. It was amazing to see her like this – her face was flushed, tinged pink on her cheeks, eyes glazed with desire and her lips swollen and red from our heated make out session. She pulled her bottom lip into her mouth, biting down gently as I lowered my lips to her jaw and neck. I couldn't get enough of her – she tasted sweet and smelled of strawberries. Trailing open mouthed kisses along her neck I felt her hands begin to comb through my hair, pulling slightly before finally letting go only to repeat the process over and over.

"I've wanted this for a long time Edward," she admitted as our breaths mixed together as we gasped and panted.

"Really?" I asked a bit shocked by her admission. "This just makes sense Bella, were supposed to be like this, aren't we?" I had dreamed of her almost nightly since that day at the beach, waking up fully aroused and needing to jerk off to the image of her rubbing lotion on her long legs. Never had I imagined that we would be in this position, feeling the same way, wanting each other in this way.

"Edward…I…I…" she was unable to complete the sentence as her legs began to shake around me and her breathing picked up as her hips rotated against me. Feeling the familiar tightening in my stomach and tingling in my chest I bucked against her with wild abandon. I quivered as I gasped, feeling myself fall over the edge into a euphoria unlike any I had experienced before.

We just laid there - both in utter bliss, staring at each other, occasionally placing small pecks onto each other.

"Happy Birthday Edward." She said softly, hugging me against her. I breathed in the sweet aroma of her hair and never wanted to pull away from her.

"Your going to break my heart Bella." I sighed into her shoulder. I could feel her shake slightly as she giggled against my chest.

"Mr. Cullen?" my assistant, Jessica chirped through the intercom on my desk, breaking me from my musing.

"Yes?" I bit back, rubbing my hand along my jaw trying to ease the ache from grinding my teeth so hard.

"Alice is here to see you."

"Oh," I said, looking at the clock on my desk. It was just past noon and I should have known that she would show up eventually. "You can send her in Jessica, thank you." I had called Alice and my mother as I drove back to Seattle last Friday night to assure them that I was ok, and although they didn't sound convinced they hadn't pushed further.

I slapped the paper down onto my desk and stood up to greet my sister at the door. She would no doubt ask me to lunch and inquisition would begin. As I opened the door to my office I could see Alice strutting down the hallway smiling politely to all the interns as she passed the mass of cubicles that collected in the middle of the floor. Seeing me in the doorway she stopped and smiled up at me, waving nervously.

"I'm surprised you waited this long, sis. I was sure you wouldn't make it past Tuesday." I said chuckling at my sister as she rolled her eyes at me.

"Me?" she asked, pointing to herself with a faux shocked expression on her face. "Come on Edward, its Friday, why don't you take the rest of the day and come home with me this weekend? Mom needs help getting the house decorated for Halloween and Dad mentioned something about this weekend being the last good weather weekend for the season. He was even waxing the bikes before work this morning!"

She was bringing out the big guns mentioning the bikes. I couldn't keep my motorcycle in the city so it was stored at home in the garage along with my fathers. It was one of the many things that we enjoyed doing together. When the weather cooperated we would go for long rides along the coast. It was the only thing that got me out of bed when _she_ left. Mom and Dad had gone out and bought the bikes brand new off the showroom floor at the Ducati dealership in Port Angels. He called me, said that he needed me to come and drive one home seeing as he bought two. Alice had driven me to the dealership and Dad and I drove the bikes back to Forks. I remember riding along the coast towards La Push, not wanting to go home right away. Dad never questioned it and kept going with me until we finally stopped to stretch and eat almost three hours later.

Since then on nice weathered weekends we would ride. It had been almost six weeks since out last adventure and the open road and wind in my hair would be the only thing to help erase the thoughts that had begun piling up in my head.

"Ok," I sighed, flicking he light switch off in my office and closing the door behind me as I made my way towards my sister. She was smiling from ear to ear as if she had just won the lottery. I guess she hadn't expected me to relent to easily. Alice wrapped her arm around mine as we made our way out of my office building and down to the street where her car was parked.

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	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

It Will Rain

By: EJJCullen

I sped down the highway, weaving between cars and trucks with ease. The Ducati engine purred and vibrated between my thighs as I leaned forward further then pulled up lifting the front of the bike into a wheelie before dropping back down going faster still. The vehicles around me, the yellow and white lines of the road and the barely lit street lamps all blurred around me. Finally turning sharply to the right and cutting off three lanes of traffic I got off on the exit leading me to Forks.

I had convinced Emmett and Rosalie to let me store the bike in their garage for the past two weeks. They lived in a brownstone a few blocks from my building and since Alice drove me to my parent's house two weeks ago to go riding with my Dad taking my bike back to the city was ultimately my only form of transportation to return home. The weather had changed overnight and the temperature now dropped dramatically when the sun went down. It was only a few minutes after ten and the sky was an inky black. Feeling more and more numb as the days passed since the engagement announcement I seemed to be immune to the cold as the frigid wind whipped at me. I wore my black full face helmet, a black leather jacket zipped up to my chin, my well worn True Religion jeans and black boots. Apart from the jeans I was surrounded in black – including my bike. It felt appropriate. I was mourning after all – mourning the loss of _her_, the loss of _us_.

What started out as a light mist of rain was quickly turning into a full fledge down pour. I came to a stop under an overpass to wait out the storm. I pulled off my helmet, dropped the kickstand and sat up on my bike. Pulling out my iphone I checked the time and saw that Alice and had called three times.

"Edward!" she screeched after the line rang only once.

"Hey sis, I was on my bike and didn't realize you called." I said, trying to ignore the ringing in ear from her greeting.

"Oh, right, sorry. I just wanted to make sure that you were going to come to the party tonight." She said, her voice sounding somewhat nervous, as if she thought I would bail.

"I said I would Alice, besides, I haven't missed one yet, so why start now?" I said. I knew I was running late. I was suppose to already be there, but I took my time leaving the city trying to prolong the inevitable and stopped to fill up the bike with gas and get cigarettes before finally committing to the trip back to Forks.

I pulled out a cigarette, lighting it and taking a deep drag as Alice stuttered over her words trying to appear that she wasn't worried about me.

"Renee and Charlie are here Edward." She said quietly. I exhaled loudly blowing the smoke out of my nose like a bull. "Charlie is asking about you."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be there soon, I'm just waiting for the rain to pass." I explained.

"I could come get you?" She offered hopefully.

"Nah, its ok. I'll give it ten minutes and if it has lightened up, then I'll just bite the bullet and get wet." I said with a laugh. Bite the bullet indeed I thought as I imagined the hell I would be facing with a house filled with family and friends dressed up in costumes, dancing and drinking. I planned to make a quick appearance, grab a bottle of Jack and then hide out somewhere on my own drowning in my sorrows.

"Ok," she said quietly. "See you soon, be careful."

"Will do sis." I placated. I stubbed out the cigarette and sat on the bike waiting the allotted ten minutes. "Shit," I cursed when ten minutes had passed and the rain hadn't lessened at all. Brushing a hand roughly through my hair I straddled the bike, pulled on my helmet and started the bike with a deafening roar.

I parked in the garage and pealed off my dripping jacket and helmet when I arrived at my parent's house about twenty minutes later. Luckily the cigarettes were dry as I pulled one out from the inside pocket of my jacket and lit up as I wiped the bike dry with some rags. I was officially two and half hours late to the party.

Once the bike was dry, I set my helmet down on the seat and draped the jacket from the handlebars before heading into the house. Alice met me in the hallway, white as a ghost with anxious eyes.

"I know, I know…I'm sorry Alice." I said as I approached her. She stood in the center of the hall not allowing me to pass with her mouth agape.

"Edward…um…B-Bella is here." She stuttered.

"What?" I barked, taking a step closer to her. My chest instantly constricted and the need to flee was the only thing running through my mind. I couldn't see _her_, I wasn't ready…I don't think I ever would be. Without another word, I turned and walked back to the backdoor hoping to escape up the staircase unnoticed.

I flew to my childhood bedroom and into the adjoined bathroom where I bent over and heaved into the toilet. Having not eaten dinner yet there was nothing in my stomach to expel, but my body heaved none the less. Once my ab muscles began to protest, I caught my breath and stood up. I flicked on the light and pulled off my soaked t-shirt using the cold material to wipe my face before dropping it to the floor with a resounding splat. I grabbed another cigarette from the pack in my back pocket, lighting it quickly and pulling hard – relieved to feel the familiar burn in my chest.

Sitting on the edge of the tub and well into my third cigarette I was finally starting to calm down. My heart pounded less and I no longer felt the need to purge the non-existent contents of my stomach.

"I thought I smelled smoke." She said from the doorway. I knew it was _her_ instantly. The sound of her voice caused the hair on my neck to stand up straight and my spine to stiffen with fear. I didn't raise my eyes to look at her. I couldn't. My body was on full alert once again and I swallowed down the bile that threatened up my throat.

"Hi Edward." She said. I exhaled the smoke from my lunges in a gust and using the burning end of the cigarette I lit up another before flicking the finished butt into the sink with the other two.

"What are you doing here?" I said as I pulled in another painful breath. My eyes moved of their own accord despite my brains protest and landed on her feet. Heels. Of course she was wearing heels – my pants seemed to tighten just at the sight of her heels. Black of course, platform with at least a four inch heel. _Fuck_, they were hot and despite every attempt I couldn't stop myself from imagining them locked around my waist, digging into my thighs. STOP! I all but screamed at myself.

"I've moved back in with my parents until I find a place of my own." She said nonchalantly. "I came with them. I wanted to see Esme, Carlisle, Alice…and…you." My eyes continued up her body as she spoke. Her long legs were bare to mid thigh when I noticed the dark blue skirt cinched at the waist by a black belt that had a flashlight, keys and handcuffs hanging from them. I was fixated by the handcuffs; I couldn't pull my eyes away from them.

"Their Charlie's." She said as she lifted them slightly and then let them fall from her fingertips lightly. I looked away immediately having been caught staring and focused instead on my cigarette that was burning away.

"What the fuck are you supposed to be?" I bit harshly gesturing to her with my cigarette.

"I'm a cop." She said pushing off the shoulder that was leaning on the doorway and raised and lowered her hands up and down her body to indicate the full outfit. She was wearing a short sleeved button down shirt that matched the skirt. The top three buttons were left open exposing a good amount of cleavage and directly over her left tit was a silver badge, that read "Private Parts Inspector", and her hair was held back with a pair of silver aviator glasses and fell in loose curls down her back.

"What are you supposed to be?" She said with a laugh. I stood up to my full 6 foot 4 inch height and took a menacing step towards her leaning my left arm on the doorway as I towered over her. She gasped lightly and her eyes widened as she took me in. I had changed a lot since she last saw me. I had always been thin and in shape having played soccer for the majority of my life, but since the last time I saw her I had put on a little over thirty pounds of muscle. My exposed chest and stomach were rock hard and tapered down into a 'V' at my hips that disappeared below my low riding jeans. My arms and shoulders were also much larger and it was my bicep in particular that she was looking at.

"I don't dress up for this bullshit." I spat at her before turning and tossing the finished cigarette into the sink. She gasped as I turned, seeing the tattoo that now decorated my back.

"When did you change it?" She asked, running her fingers over the black ink that covered the majority of my back. While in college we had gone together to get tattoos – she had small wings just at the base of her hairline, while I got wings that began in the center of my neck and touched all the way to the edge of my shoulders. Now the wings had been altered to resemble tree branches as the trunk of the tree flowed to the dimples in my lower back.

"About a month after you left." I said, hating the fact that I was loving the feel of her fingers as they danced along my back. My skin burned in the wake of her trails and each breath caught in my throat as my eyes slowly closed.

"Why?" She asked as her hand splayed across the back of my hip. I spun around to face her with hate reflecting in my eyes.

"The same reason you left _Bella_." I spat. I brushed past her leaving her standing in the bathroom alone with her mouth open in anguish. It was meant to hurt her. I wanted to hurt her. I needed her to hurt.

**How am I doing? Feedback is always welcome.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

It Will Rain

By: EJJCullen

_**Lunch later? – A**_

_**I'm busy. – E**_

_**Bullshit. I'll be there in the afternoon. No excuses. – A**_

_**Fine. – E**_

"Shit." I cursed, pocketing my iphone and running a hand through my hair. I had been successfully avoiding both my Mom and Alice for the last two weeks. My Dad knew better than to get involved, but Mom and Alice were relentless in their quest to find out exactly what had happened that had caused Isabella to leave the party in tears and for my refusal to leave the confines of my father's locked office the night of the Halloween party. I had snuck out in the middle of the night and cowardly called a cab to get home to Seattle.

I knew that Alice was going to be in Seattle today to go 'dress shopping' with Isabella. Alice had received her wish and was, in fact, a bridesmaid in Isabella's wedding. My sis had left several messages on my cell and home phone telling me that she was going to be in the city and needed to have lunch with me to make sure that I was ok. I thought I could make up an excuse, but clearly she was showing up to my office either way. My sister was nothing if not stubborn.

I tired to keep myself busy as the morning quickly turned into the afternoon. I knew Alice would be ruthless with her line of questioning. She was Isabella's friend too, and I was sure that Alice knew more about the two of us than she ever led me to believe. To this day I had not uttered a word about what led to the demise of Isabella and my relationship and her eventual escape to New York. Thinking about the last two weeks of our senior year of college and the month after returning to Forks were painful and had wounded me so critically that I will never recover. _She_ seemed bounce right back to normal and that fact alone was what kept the constant wound in my heart from healing completely.

"Mr. Cullen?" Jessica's voice echoed. I took a deep breath trying as best I could to prepare for lunch with Alice.

"You can send her up." I interrupted before Jessica could announce my visitor. I put the finishing touches on a proposal I was working on and saved it before closing down my email and shutting off my computer. I had no doubts that this 'lunch' would last all afternoon and afterwards I would be in no mood to return to the office.

There was a timid knock on my door as I was placing some files into my briefcase that I would take home to review later tonight.

"Come in." I barked. "Alice I half expected you to just barge…" but the words died on my lips as I saw Isabella in the doorway. She closed the door behind her with a quiet _click_ that seemed to echo in the quiet of my office. She was the last person that I expected to see. The panic that started to burn in the back of my head slowly traveled down my chest and spine making it hard to breathe. "What are you…?"

"Edward." She said before I could finish my sentence. "Do you think we could talk?" She was nervous, which was something that allowed me to relax a minimally. "I understand if your busy and can't. Alice said she was having lunch with you and I convinced her to let me meet with you instead."

I was still having a hard time breathing normally. I coughed quickly to recover from the shock and nodded.

"Great." She said, wringing her hands together. "Where do you want to go?"

"Um, we could go to the coffee shop around the corner?" I asked.

"Actually, I was hoping that we could go somewhere a little less crowded. I want to talk some things out with you and I would rather it just be the two of us." She said, glancing around my office. She was looking anywhere but at my eyes. It would appear that the diploma hanging from the wall was especially engaging.

"We could go to my place." I said, wishing I could take it back before she heard. I couldn't have her in my home. It was too personal and her scent would no doubt linger torturing me even after she left.

"Ok." She said, now looking down at her shoes.

We left the office walking awkwardly through my office building next to one anther as if we were strangers. I led her to my car and held the door open for her as she got it – I was raised to be a gentleman after all. As I slid in next to her she smiled as she ran an appreciative hand along the dashboard in front of her.

"You finally got your Bond car." She whispered.

The awkwardness followed us during the silent ten minute car ride to my apartment, through the parking garage and up the elevator. I opened the door to my home, walked in and held it open for her to do the same. I placed my briefcase next to the accent table in the entryway and put my wallet, phone and keys onto the decorative glass tray that sat on top of it. My eyes met hers in the reflection of the mirror – I held out my hand to take her purse and placed it next to my items on the table before turning to help her as she shrugged our of her coat. My fingers grazed against her and I gasped sharply at the tingle that flowed from the tips of my fingers to the frayed edges of my heart.

After hanging her coat as well as mine on the rack, I led her further into the apartment. Emmett always described my apartment as 'minimal' and looking around I would have to agree with him. The main area of the apartment was open and the dinning area, kitchen and sitting room all flowed into each other. The dinning room was rarely used but none the less was decorated with a small black hutch with glass doors, a burgundy colored rug beneath a glass table with six black high backed chairs, and a simple chrome chandelier finished off the room suspended above the center of the table. The kitchen had a row of white cabinets and stainless steal appliances that were hardly used except of course for the coffee maker. The granite counter top ran the length of the wall beneath the cabinets and matched the top of the island in the center of the room. Finally the sitting area housed the simple entertainment center containing a flat screen TV and Bose surround sound as well as held my collection of CDs and DVDs, a glass coffee table and a black leather sectional couch completed the room.

I gestured to the couch and Isabella took a seat on the far end crossing her legs and wringing her hands in her lap.

"Can I get you something to drink?" I asked. Not wanting to just dive right into this long awaited conversation that we were no doubt going to have.

"I'll just have what you're having." She replied. I smiled crookedly and nodded before turning to the kitchen where I grabbed two highball glasses and filled them each two thirds of the way with Jack Daniels followed by a splash of Coke. Liquid courage was a must right now.

I returned to Isabella, handing her the glass and she immediately took a gulp, coughing forcefully once she swallowed.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised by that." She said, clearing her throat and wiping away the tears from her eyes as a result of the coughing fit. I smiled in return but said nothing as I emptied the majority of my glass in one swig.

"I think I've made a mistake." She started. I rolled my eyes which earned a harsh glare when she caught me. "I never should have left for New York the way I did."

"It only took you six years to come up with that one Bella." I bit back angrily narrowing my eyes at her.

"Edward we both know how hard it was for us. We fought constantly and resented each other. There was nothing either one of us could say or do to right the situation and we were just on two different paths."

"Bullshit." I spat. "We were fine until you started confiding in _him_."

"It wasn't like that Edward."

"Really Bella? Because I remember finding those emails and wondering why the hell you weren't talking to me about it. You ran to him the first chance you got. I never said anything to anyone Bella. We said that we would do this together, that we would get through it together – but you wouldn't talk to me. You blamed me."

"I never blamed you Edward. I…I…blamed myself, and it hurt to see you look at me with love in your eyes when I wasn't worthy of it." She said as tears began to fall down her cheeks. "Jacob let me talk out my fears."

"Right," I scoffed. "We could have moved on from it Bella. But instead you ran to _him_, cried on _his_ shoulder. How long did it take for you two to start sleeping together? Because apparently you two started dating your senior year! At least according to the paper. You lied to me. It killed me when you said you wanted to get away for the summer…I guess what you really wanted was to get away from **me**. "

"That's not true Edward! We met senior year, yes, but we didn't start dating until that September."

"Well, thank you Bella." I spat sarcastically. "Thank for you wait a whole three months! I was here planning our future and you were off 'getting away' – getting off is more like it. Why did you let me believe that we were going to continue with our plans?"

"Because I wanted them Edward, I did. But when it came time to come home, to you…to our future, I just couldn't! I knew what you wanted and I just couldn't give it to you." She was full fledged crying by now, but I refused to back down. I continued to stand glaring at her, getting everything off my chest that had been building up for the last six years. "You were supposed to go off to med school Edward…become something, not get stuck with me before you had a chance to experience what was out there."

"We would not have been **stuck** together." I hissed. "We could have been happy…together…a _family_. But instead you chose to 'experience' Jacob." My tears fell in messy drops dampening the front of my shirt. It was as if I had been transported back to the day where my world flipped on its axis.

We had been studying day and night the previous three days preparing for the last of our exams. I had taken my MCAT's close to six weeks ago and was anxiously awaiting the results. Bella had gone out for a quick coffee run and came bursting through the door to our apartment with several envelopes clutched to her chest and a tray of coffees in her hands.

"I'm late." She called out as her bag slid from her shoulder, dropping to the floor with a loud thump.

"Bella, your fine, we still have almost twenty minutes to get to campus. We have plenty of time." I said, eyeing the envelope of the top of the pile. I could make out the words _'Educational Testing…'_. "Are those my results?"

"No…Edward…I mean, I'm _late_." The look of fear that covered her face penetrated my stare and my stomach felt as if I had just swallowed a lead bowling ball.

**Had to leave you wanting more…right? Do you like it so far? Reviews make me happy (and inspired).**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

It Will Rain

By: EJJCullen

_Six years earlier…_

"How _late_?" I asked after a few minutes of opening and closing my mouth not able to verbalize my thoughts.

"Um, I think eight weeks." She said, placing the coffee on the kitchen table, taking a seat in one of the chairs still clutching the pile of mail to her chest. Her eyes were downcast as she mentally counted the weeks.

"WHAT?" I chocked. "You've known for eight fucking weeks and haven't said a word?" My chest heaved with each deep breath, I was on the verge of a panic attack as I thought of all things we had done and talked about over the last eight weeks, trying to make some sort of sense in my head as to how**this** topic had not yet surfaced.

"No, I took the test this morning. I've been so busy and my mind has been in a million different places that my regularity is the last thing I've been thinking about." She said meeting my eyes as they shimmered with tears and nervousness. "I was writing out my study schedule on my calendar when it hit me. I took the test at the coffee shop."

I stood rooted to the floor unable to fathom how this happened. We were always so safe. The reality of the situation was slowly settling into my brain, and as if a switch had been flipped I realized that as scared as I was in this moment, Bella must be just as petrified. With that thought in mind I willed my body to take the handful of steps to her and dropped to my knees in front of her and wrapped my arms around her waist pulling her to me in a tight hug.

"It'll be ok Bella. We can handle this. It just means speeding some things up. Were just going to be ahead of schedule." I reasoned both to her and to myself. I had wanted to finish med school and be financially stable before marrying Bella and starting a family, but given the situation that we were in, perhaps I could delay med school a year, work at the clinic in Forks, live in my parent's apartment above the garage and save like crazy – then begin med school the following year. I was sure that both of our parents would support us with this plan – and I was confident that both Esme and Renee would be thrilled to watch their grandchild while Bella and I worked.

I laid out the plan to Bella, who nodded mutely each step of the way. She had a faraway look in her eyes – I had thought she was simply envisioning our future. We got ourselves under control, left for our individual exams and made plans to revisit the issue when we got back later that afternoon. Bella called an OB/GYN and scheduled an appointment for two days later. Although Bella seemed a little withdrawn the days leading up to the appointment, she smiled brightly and squeezed my hand lovingly as we saw the flicker of a heartbeat on the ultrasound screen. Bella was in fact eight weeks along and therefore would be due between Christmas and New Years. She dropped me off back at our apartment and was going to run to the pharmacy to pick up her vitamins saying she would be back shortly.

Four hours later I was pacing the length of the apartment. She wasn't answering her cell and none of her friends had heard from her. I couldn't sit there any longer just waiting, I wrote a quick note to Bella asking her to call me immediately in case she came home while I was out looking for her. The pharmacy was within walking distance to the campus so I headed in that direction. As I was walking down the block that the pharmacy was on I glanced into the coffee shop that Bella and I frequented.

"What the fuck?" My jaw fell open and my stomach twisted in both jealousy and anger as I saw Bella seated in a corner booth with a tall, dark guy. Her head was on his shoulder and he was rubbing her back as she cried. I stormed into the coffee shop, practically ripping the door off its hinges as I entered and came to a stop in front of the table as Bella's apprehensive eyes met mine. She quickly sat up and wiped at her eyes.

"Bella, do you have any idea how worried I have been?" I panted. "I've been sitting in the apartment waiting for you to come home for the last four hours and you haven't answered your phone once! You must have a hundred missed calls from me!"

"I…I shut off my phone." She said nervously, staring at the floor. "I was on my way home when I came in for some coffee and ran into Jake." She threw her thumb in his direction indicating the man sitting next to her. "We are study partners in Sociology."

"Bella, that doesn't explain to me why you didn't come home or at least call me! Why the hell did you turn your cell off?" I was borderline livid at this point. She was giving me pitiful excuses and was acting as if…

"Are you cheating on me?" I accused, narrowing my eyes at the son of a bitch who still had his hand on Bella's back. "What the fuck is going on!"

"Bells was just a little down and I was trying to make her feel better." Jake spoke quietly.

"Bells?" I spat. I was the only one to call her anything other than Isabella and as she finally looked up meeting my stare her face flushed with embarrassment. I had clearly walked in on something that I was not supposed to see. She had never mentioned Jake and had I not discovered them I was sure she never would have. How long had they known each other? How well do they know each other?

"Congratulations by the way." Jake said, smiling and holding his hand out for me to shake. Bella's cheeks burned crimson at his words. We had promised not to tell anyone until she had reached twelve weeks – we hadn't even told our parents yet, and her she was discussing our personal information with a man I had never met. Shaking my head as I looked down at her with disgust in my eyes I turned and stormed back out of the coffee shop.

I headed straight back to the apartment, ignoring the urge to go to the bar and drink until I practically erased the last four hours. Once inside the apartment I had the overwhelming urge to clean. I put all the dishes into the dishwasher, wiped down the counter tops, straightened up the cushions and pillows on the couch before heading into the bedroom. I ripped the sheets of the bed and threw them into the laundry basket and in the process knocked Bella's laptop to the floor. I went to her side of the bed to pick it up and return it to the bedside table when I glanced at the screen where her email inbox was displayed – a couple from Rosalie, two from her Mom and the rest were from a Jacob Black.

I sat on the edge of the bed gripping the laptop so hard that the plastic casing was starting to make noises of protest. Moving the cursor over the newest email I opened it. I skimmed through the lengthy back and forth correspondence below each message and felt my chest tighten and my stomach clench. They had been emailing for several months and what had started out as simple questions and answers regarding classes quickly developed into more personal discussions, plans to meet up to talk or hang after and in between classes, debates about movies they had seen together, and teasing over music and TV show choices.

I felt sick, it was as if someone had punched a hole in my chest and was angrily gripping my heart. I was putting the laptop back on the bedside table just as Bella walked into the bedroom. Her eyes widened as they met mine and saw my hands on the edges of the laptop.

"I can explain Edward…Edward?" Isabella shouted breaking me of my daydream and dropping me back into reality. My damp shirt caused my skin to pepper with goose bumps and a chill to run down my spine. Isabella stood from my couch and approached me cautiously as if she thought I would break.

"I don't want to hear it Bella. I didn't want to hear it then either. The only reason I accepted your 'explanations' six years ago was because I was blinded by my love for you and the idea of having a family with you. Obviously the miscarriage was the sign that we both needed to know that our relationship was doomed." I barked backing away from Isabella's outstretched hand. She flinched at my words and dropped her hand.

"Enough!" She yelled, making my jaw drop slightly. "This needs to be said. We need to get all of this shit out in the open so that we can get over it."

"Bella…"

"No, Edward. Sit down and shut up." She pointed to the spot on the couch she just vacated. I followed still shocked – Bella was never this bold. The only other time that she was audacious like this was when we left the doctor's office when they had confirmed the miscarriage. She hadn't cried and her hand was limp in mine throughout the visit. When we left she drove straight to the tattoo shop just outside of Fork's. She was determined to mark herself with a symbol of the child we were supposed to have. We decided on wings – imagining our child as an angel. It was the last thing we did together. Three days later she left for New York.

"I can't believe that you got rid of your tattoo." She said, taking the seat next to me. "We did that to remember our baby and you just covered it up."

"I didn't cover it up Bella. I just couldn't be the only one to deal with it on a daily basis. You just ran off to New York, leaving me a fucking note! I mean come on Bella, you wrote that you were leaving for a few weeks to get your head together. I waited at the airport like a fucking idiot waiting for you. Do you have any idea how it felt to stand there waiting and knowing that you wouldn't be coming home?" I grabbed a cigarette from the pack on the coffee table and lit up breathing deeply before blowing the smoke out in a thick stream.

"You think that I don't deal with it everyday? You think that I don't wake up every morning and imagine how different my life would be if we did have the baby? I just wasn't ready for all of that Edward. You had everything planned out and I felt trapped. When I went to New York it was like a whole new start to a whole new life." She placed her hand on my knee as she spoke. My eyes refused to look at her, but my traitorous body zinged with a flow of energy radiating from her palm.

"Why didn't you just tell me that you didn't love me?" I finally asked. It was a question that I thought everyday since the moment I saw her in the coffee shop with Jacob. I never asked simply because I was afraid of the answer, but now sitting in my apartment with her I felt like it was what I needed to know in order to move on with my life – to be able to let her go.

"I do love you Edward. I always have and I always will." Her fingers squeezed my knee lightly with her words. "Jake is the exact opposite of you. He never plans things out, everything is spontaneous. At first it was refreshing, a change of pace, but now I need the structure that you provided me with."

"It's a little too late for that, don't you think?" I asked eyeing the engagement ring that sparkled on her ring finger. Her eyes quickly dropped to the ring and she slowly retracted her hand off of my knee.

"I still dream of our life." She said with a far away look in her eyes.

"Does Jacob know that?" I asked.

"Yes. I think it's the only reason that he proposed to be honest. I told him that I was coming back to Seattle – I interviewed with a couple of companies and just accepted a position starting next month. He put in for a transfer as soon as I told him – he won't relocate until the New Year though." She explained. "Did you know that I never even said 'yes'?"

"You didn't say 'no' though either I bet." I said. I stood up from the couch and walked to the door. "I think its time for you to go Bella."

She sat stunned for a moment before finally standing and walking over to me. I held her coat up for her as she pulled one sleeve up her arm then she spun facing me pulling the other sleeve on. My hands were still holding onto the collar of her coat as my eyes reluctantly met hers. She was staring at me like she used to and it sent a flurry of butterflies to the pit of my stomach. Before I could even blink her lips were on mine. I gripped the collar of her coat roughly and pulled her closer as she wrapped her arms around my waist.

The feel of her lips were unreal and I moaned into her mouth as I felt her tongue run along my bottom lip. I willingly opened my mouth to her and tilted my head slightly to deepen the kiss. Her thumbs rubbed along my hips slowly and my body instantly wanted more from her. The haze of lust quickly lifted as I felt myself harden. I pushed her away slightly, shocked about what had just happened.

"I never said 'yes'" she repeated with a smirk as she grabbed her purse off the table and stepped around me to exit the apartment. I stood dumbfounded as the door closed behind her and I was once again surrounded by the quiet of my lonely apartment.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

It Will Rain

By: EJJCullen

The feel of Isabella's lips on mine haunted me for days. I had jerked off twice after she left that night and since then I've woken up each morning hard as a rock from very vivid dreams of a brown eyed girl. In my dreams it was like the old _us_. They were more like memories – her below me, on top of me, bent before me, on her knees always anxious and ready to please me. It was aggravating that my body could be swayed so easily by her. I refused, however, to let her actions sway my heart.

Alice was sitting across the table from me at my parent's house as we enjoyed our lunch. She was rambling on and on to our mother about all the dresses that she had tried on the past couple of days and what color and style she liked best.

"I swear, she can't make a decision to save her life! She refused to pick out anything, it's almost as if she doesn't even want to get married." Alice was saying. My head swiftly turned in her direction hearing those words.

"What do you mean?" I asked, earning suspicious glances from both my parents.

"Well, I seriously must have tried on thirty dresses – all different colors and fits, and she just refused to pick one. She wouldn't even narrow them down by the style! She just kept giving lame excuses like 'I'm just not sure' or 'it doesn't feel right'. And don't get me started on her dress!" she said waving her hands around for dramatic effect. "Your wedding dress is the most important decision of your life! She hasn't even started looking."

"Alice, not everyone picked out their wedding dress at age 5." My mother chided.

"Mom, if it weren't for Renee dragging Bella to the dress shops she wouldn't even be going! I am telling you right now, I don't think this wedding is going to happen."

The room was suddenly quiet and all eyes landed on me as I quickly cast my gaze down to the plate in front of me. As soon as my plate was clear, I quickly excused myself from the table escaping to the garage shouting over my shoulder that I needed to run out real quick.

Donning my black leather jacket and helmet I straddled my bike and sped off in the direction of the gas station in town. I needed to buy a pack of cigarettes, but more importantly I needed to escape the questioning eyes of my parents. Alice had blurted out that Isabella had come to meet with me at my apartment and since then I have been dodging questions from both of them as to the nature of the visit as well as the specifics of what we talked about.

I gassed up and made my purchase quickly before hopping back on my bike and heading out to the beach to clear my head. About a mile from my destination I saw a familiar beat up truck on the side of the road with the hood popped open. I sped past, but as I looked into my side mirror I felt obligated to turn around – Isabella was leaning against the hood with her head hung over the engine that was puffing angrily with large clouds of smoke. After an internal battle with myself, I spun around and headed back to Isabella. I stopped next to the truck and flipped up the visor of my helmet.

"Need a hand?" I asked as she looked up to see me, her eyes widening slightly after recognizing me.

"Um, well, the damn thing just gave out on me." She admitted as she shrugged her shoulders. Her hair was pulled over her right shoulder and her face was moist from the heat of the engine. She looked beautiful, and I mentally slapped myself as soon as I thought it. I couldn't stop myself from looking her up and down – tight 'Fork's High' t-shirt, jeans that fit her curves perfectly and a pair of Puma's. Those jeans would make a reappearance in my dreams later no doubt.

"Where are you headed?" I asked, knowing that there wasn't much out this way.

"The beach." She said nodding her head in the direction that I too had been going.

"Need a lift?" I asked mentally chastising myself for even offering. She smiled and nodded as I pulled off my helmet handing it to her to put on. After sliding the helmet on, she grabbed onto my shoulder for support as she kicked her leg over the bike before settling down behind me.

She wrapped her arms around my waist, squeezing gently before running her fingers up and down the contours of my stomach. I stiffened at the sensation of her fingers roaming my body. Feeling the edges on the hole in my chest fray further I swallowed the hurt and rode over to the entrance of the parking lot to the beach. I came to a stop and she continued to hold me for a beat longer than necessary before untangling herself from the bike and handing me the helmet back.

I thought about leaving and going somewhere else, but I knew if I put my helmet on now I would be swimming in her scent. I flicked out the kickstand and balanced the helmet on the seat, opening the visor to allow the sea breeze in to air it out.

"Want to go down to the coves?" she asked, raising her eyebrows slightly as she waited eagerly for my response.

"Nah, I think I am just going to go for a walk." I said brushing past her in the opposite direction of the coves.

"Oh," she said as her head fell slightly. "Want some company?"

"Nope." I said over my shoulder, not even offering a glance in her direction. I sped off, and by the time I reached the sand my heart was beating normally and my breathing was under control.

I walked along the waters edge for a bit thinking about why Isabella would be hesitant about making plans for the wedding and her admission to me the other day about not saying 'yes' to Jacob. What did it mean? Although six years had passed the sting of betrayal was ever present and it was torture to even think that I could possibly be a factor in her decision. Did she want to come back to me? Was that why she had planned to return to Seattle? I knew that I still wanted her – I never got over her, despite putting up the front that I had. I dreamed of her often over the past few years and was a glutton for punishment every time I asked Alice for an update. Her and Isabella remained friends and kept in contact and I knew I wasn't fooling Alice when I would nonchalantly bring Isabella up and fish for information. She always shared and never once did she point out the obvious or make me feel bad.

My musings were interrupted by the chirp of an incoming text. I pulled out my phone wrinkled my brow in confusion.

_**Don't hate me. – A**_

Before I could respond to the text a new one came in from an unknown number.

_**Please forgive me. - B**_

My heart rate spiked and I read the three words over and over again weighing the significance in my head. How the hell was I supposed to forgive her? She left me, and when I went to pick her up at the airport the day she was scheduled to return she never showed. I stood there like an idiot for hours. I ended up getting sick from sitting out in the rain on the curb of the arrival section in the pouring rain. We had one conversation in six years and I am suddenly supposed to forget the heartbreak she put me through? I pocketed my phone and pulled out a cigarette smoking it down to the filter before flicking it into the sand.

I headed back to the parking lot, straddled my bike and took off for home, not caring if Isabella got a ride back or not.

Two weeks later I was still ignoring Isabella's daily text messages begging for forgiveness. A few days ago she got brave and started calling me. I ignored those too. Her messages were always the same….I'm sorry, please forgive me, I made a mistake, I'm ready now. Ready for what exactly? My life is so different from where it was going six years ago…I'm not the same person.

After hiding in my room of depression for a month after Isabella didn't show up at the airport, my parents had begged me to continue on with my plans. I had withdrawn my tuition to med school, started smoking a pack a day, and was working construction with Emmitt just to escape the constant thoughts of _her_. My parents never said they were disappointed in me, but I could feel their frustration with how I was flushing my future down the toilet. A month later I had saved enough to move to Seattle and continued working with Emmett. Then four months after I enrolled in an MBA program and got a degree in business/finance allowing Emmitt and I to develop our own consulting firm. In the past eighteen months we skyrocketed and were currently pulling in six figure incomes a piece. And yet I was still hollow inside.

Thanksgiving was tomorrow and I regrettably accepted the invitation to join my family for dinner at their house. It wasn't until this morning that Alice finally admitted that the Swan's were also joining – she refused to say whether or not Isabella was included. I finished the day early, letting the employees leave at noon to go be with family and friends, while I stayed until just after four. Emmett and I met up for a few drinks before we went our separate ways around eleven. I was slightly buzzed as I exited the elevator and walked to my apartment. I entered my apartment heading straight to my bedroom to strip off my suit trading it for a pair of black sleep pants. After brushing my teeth I grabbed a bottle of water and headed to bed with my spirits high.

I woke startled at 2am. I glanced around my bedroom trying to figure out what exactly woke me when I heard pounding on my door. I stumbled out of bed in my haste to answer the door in the hope of not disturbing any of my neighbors.

"WHAT?" I barked as I pulled open the door. I took a step back as an intoxicated Isabella giggled from where she leaned against the doorframe. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see you." She mumbled around another fit of giggles. I grabbed her arm roughly and pulled her abruptly into my apartment. I would have to apologize to my neighbors later. She leaned against the now closed door and bit her bottom lip as her eyes landed on my naked chest. I turned my back to her and walked into the kitchen. I could hear her shuffling behind me as I made my way towards my phone.

"Who are you calling?" she asked.

"A cab company." I grunted.

"Why?"

"Because your drunk and need to go home." I explained.

"I don't want to go home." She said as she took a step towards me and grabbed the phone from my hands. She tossed it into the sink and began peeling her coat off her arms letting it drop to the floor around her feet. She was wearing a tight black dress that stopped mid thigh and those _heels_.

"You don't know what you want." I spat, turning and walking to the hall closet to pull out a blanket and pillow.

"Edward, I'm not making you sleep on the couch" she said as I dropped the items onto the end cushion.

"It's not for me." I laughed as I walked back to my bedroom, shutting the door forcefully behind me.

* * *

><p><strong>Thoughts? Hope your enjoying this. Reviews inspire more chapters!<strong>


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

It Will Rain

By: EJJCullen

"Edward?"

I was once again awoken, this time to the voice of Isabella as she stood at the side of my bed.

"What?" I grumbled into my pillow, refusing to open my eyes.

"I need to borrow a shirt to sleep in."

I opened my eyes and sat up slightly, glaring at her. She was fidgeting, shifting her weight from foot to foot waiting for my response. I threw back the covers and walked up to my dresser grabbing a t-shirt from the top of the pile, and tossed it towards her before returning to the warmth of my bed. She placed the shirt on the end of the bed and brought her hands behind her, pushing her chest out, as she slowly unzipped her dress, letting it fall to the floor in a puddle of black fabric. I gasped as she stood before me in nothing but her black lace panties, those _heels_, and a devilish smile.

She put the shirt on quickly and stepped out of her heels. My eyes remained fixed on her as she approached the empty space next to me in my bed.

"Don't." I said as she lifted the covers. "I don't want you in here."

"Come on Edward, your not really going to make me sleep on the couch, are you?" She asked humorously.

"Yes. I am, now please go back to the couch." I said as my chest constricted. I couldn't have her in here – her scent wafting around me was already too much. I feared that if I allowed her into my bed that I would allow her to do anything, and I couldn't be that easy to manipulate.

"Edward, I'm trying here." She whined, lifting the covers higher.

"What exactly are you 'trying' Bella? Trying to push me over the edge? Trying to hurt me more than you already have? What?" Each breath struggled to expand my chest which refused to cooperate.

"I'm trying to show you how I feel about you." She said as she lifted a knee and leaned onto the bed.

"Bella, you wouldn't have to show me how you feel if you had stayed, or better yet, come home when you told me you would. You haven't been in my life for six years, and I'm not sure that I want you in it now." My words sounded powerful although my mind kept shouting out that I was lying. I did want her, I knew I did, but it wasn't what I needed. I needed her to prove to me that she would be committed to me before I would even consider anything. She lowered herself completely into my bed and I bolted out of it as if it were set on fire.

"Fine, I'll take the couch." I grunted as I left her alone in my bed.

The next morning I woke to the sounds of the door to the apartment closing. I sat up on the couch and groaned as the ache in my neck made its presence known. I sat for a second and debated whether to have a smoke or not, deciding against it I walked to my bedroom to strip the bed.

The bed was made perfectly and in the center of it was a piece of paper. I picked it up and began reading…

_Edward,_

_There are so many things that I need to apologize for…_

_First, I am sorry for showing up at your door in the middle of the night last night. I was drunk and lonely and you consume my every thought, so it was the only place that I wanted to be._

_Second, I am sorry that I didn't come home that day. It was the hardest decision of my life. I sat at the airport for hours, my bag was packed and I sat clutching my boarding pass all morning, afternoon and most of the evening. I ended up staying because I was afraid that we would never be able to move on and be together like we were before the miscarriage. You were always so careful around me as if I was so fragile, and I felt so guilty for being relieved that we didn't have to rush into things just because of the baby._

_Lastly, I am sorry that I hurt you each and every time I see you. I see the way my presence affects you and it breaks my heart. I just need you to know that I love you, and always have. _

_I've called off the wedding._

_Bella_

I must have read the letter ten times before I finally sat down on the bed. I was dumbfounded and didn't know whether to feel happy or sad, relieved or nervous about the things that she confessed to me. I folded the note, slipped it into my night table and headed to the bathroom to shower and prepare myself for Thanksgiving at the Cullen's.

I arrived at my parent's house right on time with a bottle of wine under one arm and a bouquet of flowers under the other. I was feeling strangely good, light almost. Bella's written confessions took some weight off of my shoulders. Although it was six years too late, I was relieved to know that she was sorry for her actions and what they caused me.

To be honest, if she did come home I'm not entirely sure how things would have worked out. Would we still have gotten married? I wasn't so sure thinking about it now. The pregnancy scare definitely moved things along, but Bella was right, after the miscarriage things were not the same. I don't think it's possible for things not to have changed in our relationship. I did handle her as if she was fragile – I thought she was putting on a brave front, I didn't realize that she was relieved, and guilt ridden by said relief.

The days leading up to her abrupt departure for New York were strained at best. We still said 'I love you', but we were not physical in any way – even holding hands felt uncomfortable. Looking back on it now, it was the right thing for us to do. Our relationship would never have recovered and we would have resented each other as a result. With this new knowledge I felt my head become clearer, my chest expand more with each breath, and the hole in my chest scab over. I felt myself smile more, I even whistled and hummed along with the radio as I sped to my parent's earlier.

"Happy Thanksgiving." I said to my Mom, handing her the flowers and dropping a kiss onto her head.

"Thank you." She said, slightly shocked by the change in my demeanor. Her smile was natural, but held an air of nervousness as well.

"What's got into you?" My Dad called from across the kitchen. He was sitting at the table holding the newspaper that was now being ignored as he took me in. His eyes were studying me as I leaned against the counter and placed the bottle of wine next to me. I felt slightly uncomfortable under my father's gaze, but decided to brush it aside as I pulled myself up to sit on the countertop.

"Nothing," I said to my Dad, turning towards my mother. "What can I do to help?"

"Who are you and what have you done with my brother?" Alice asked as she walked into the kitchen with her mouth hanging open.

"What? Jeez, what is up with you all?" I asked defensively, while popping a grape into my mouth from a basket that sat near me.

"Must have finally got laid." I heard my sister mumble, as she approached the stove to assist my mother. My Dad chuckled and returned his attention to the newspaper, clearly having heard Alice's words.

"Did you hear that Bella called off the wedding?" Alice said to my Mom.

"She really did it?" I asked, unable to keep the words from spewing out. Isabella had confessed to doing so in her note, but I didn't realize that she actually had done it.

"She already told you?" Alice asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, kinda, I mean, she stopped by my place last night and she kinda hinted at it." I rambled, feeling my cheeks burn with embarrassment.

"She _kinda_ stopped by?" Alice asked. "It must have been pretty late, because we were out drinking till almost 1am." Her eyes twinkled with mischief as she continued to pepper me with questions. "What time did she 'stop by'? I didn't realize she knew where you lived. Did you guys talk? Did she tell you why she called off the wedding?"

"Whoa whoa whoa." I said, throwing my hands up in surrender. "Your making this into something that its not. She just stopped by real quick and we talked briefly and that was that." I chose to keep her written admission to myself, as well as the impromptu sleep over.

I escaped the kitchen before more questions could be thrown my way and went into the living room to watch some football while throwing back a few beers. My Dad joined me shortly afterwards, but never mentioned anything about what was said earlier in the kitchen. He simply sat beside me and every now and then I would see him smile out of the corner of my eye.

Six beers later and it was almost time for dinner. The Swan's, including a very quiet Isabella, showed up about a half hour ago. Renee headed straight to the kitchen to assist with preparations, Charlie joined the guys watching football and Isabella wondered from room to room never fully committing to staying in one place.

The dinner passed quickly and without a hiccup. The subject of Isabella's late night visit was not brought up, thankfully. I ate more than my fair share of food and headed out to the back deck to lay on one of the lounge chairs, nurse my beer and smoke a well deserved cigarette.

With a sigh of happiness I stretched out my legs and pulled my fresh pack of cigarettes from the inside pocket of my leather jacket. Flipping open the lighter, I lit the cigarette that dangled between my lips and pulled harshly. I let my breath out slowly surrounding myself in a cloud of smoke. I closed my eyes as my head leaned back and repeated the process.

"When did you start smoking?" Isabella asked, making my eyes burst open at the sudden interruption. She was leaning against the railing at the end of the lounge chair I was on. She licked her lips as I pulled the cigarette towards my lips again inhaling and then exhaling slowly.

"About six years ago." I said.

"Around the same time you re-designed your tattoo?" She asked, seemingly already knowing the answer to her question.

"Yep." I said, popping the 'p', and finally standing up from the lounge chair. I walked over and stood next to her as I finished my cigarette, putting the butt into my empty beer bottle.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I would have done something similar if the roles were reversed." She said, hanging her head slightly.

"I'm really sorry." She said, lifting her eyes to meet mine. They shined with tears and sincerity.

"I know." I said, unconsciously leaning closer to her. "I can see now why you did it. Your right, we wouldn't have ever been the same."

"Do you think that you could ever forgive me?" she asked, as a teardrop slowly slid down her cheek.

"Yeah, I think I can." I admitted, as my hand drifted up and wiped the tear from her face. Her eyes closed as my fingers lightly brushed her cheek and I could almost feel an electric pulse surge through my body at the slight connection.

"I called off the wedding." She said, opening her eyes cautiously to gaze into mine.

"I know." I said, dropping my hand to her shoulder and pulling her towards me into a hug.

"It wasn't what I wanted." She admitted, sniffling into my chest. My t-shirt became cold and damp from her tears. Her hands wrapped around my waist anchoring me to her. I ran my fingers through her hair and it felt soft and smooth like it did all those years ago. I felt content having her in my arms.

"What do you want?" I asked, afraid to hear the words that I knew she was going to say.

"You."


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

It Will Rain

By: EJJCullen

Alice tried to convince me to go shopping with her the day after Thanksgiving – I told her I would rather cut my balls off then to be standing in lines and pushing my way through the crowds. Online shopping is the only way for me. Instead I was sitting on my couch watching TV and getting irritated by the constant chirp of my phone.

_**What about lunch then? – A**_

_**Fine. I will meet you for lunch, tell me when and where and DO NOT text me again after that. – E**_

_**Corner Café, 2pm. – A**_

I checked my watch, I had about an hour before I met up with Alice. It gave me just enough time to respond to some emails, shower and dress. After a half hours worth of emails were sent I stripped off my sleep pants and headed to the shower. I stood under the scalding spray and thought about Isabella. I found it much easier to think of her now. The hurt was still there, just less powerful. After admitting that she wanted me, she went on to tell me that her and Jacob had decided to go separate ways – it was 'amicable'. They both knew that they weren't in love with each other the way they wanted to be. They cared for one another, but at the end of the day it wasn't the kind of care that led you down the aisle. She kissed me again that night. I'm not sure if I was intoxicated by the beers all day, her scent, or the way that her tongue ran along my bottom lip that did me in, but before I knew what I was doing I had her pinned against the railing and was kissing her like I used to. I kissed her with a passion I thought was long gone.

I could still feel the tingles in my lips that ran a direct line down to my cock, which now stood at full salute. Groaning in both frustration and need I grabbed my stiff member and stroked quickly with her image as my focal point. I pictured her on her knees sucking me into her mouth. I pictured her eyes looking up at me through long wet lashes as she hollowed out her cheeks and hummed around me. I pictured her hand traveling down south to pleasure herself – it was that image alone that had me seeing bursts of white stars and panting heavily as I came in long spurts that swirled down the drain.

As the calming euphoria settled around me I grabbed the soap and went about finishing up my shower. Once I was done and dried off, I threw on a pair of dark blue True Religion jeans, a tight white thermal shirt and my Puma sneakers. I grabbed a palm full of pomade, ran in through my damp hair, grabbed my leather jacket and headed out to meet up with Alice.

As I walked into the Corner Café, the hostess approached me. Before she could get a word out I spotted my sister surrounded by shopping bags of all shapes and sizes. I held up my hand to the hostess, pointed at my sister and smiled politely before heading off in the direction where Alice was sitting. I rolled my eyes when I finally reached the table and grabbed a handful of bags and moved them to the floor so that I could sit.

"What?" she asked with an innocent look. I just raised one eyebrow in response to which she rolled her eyes and claimed that all the boxes and bags surrounding us were Christmas gifts.

"So, are you guys back together yet?" she asked as the waitress approached our table with drinks.

"No." I said. "Alice, I know you have this fantasy of Bella being your sister, but it's just not like that."

"What are you talking about? She broke up with him! She clearly wants you back!" she said, waving her hands around as she spoke.

"It's not that easy. I don't know if I want that." I said, tasting the lie as the words left my mouth.

"Bullshit." Alice laughed, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Ok, maybe I **want **to, but perhaps I don't **need **to. I mean, it took me forever to get over her, I just don't think I could go through that again." I said, trying to explain the constant battle my mind had been having since I left my parents house the night of Isabella's confession.

"Edward, I know how awful things were for you then. It was unbearable to see what she did to you. But, you guys are meant for each other! We've all seen it growing up. And I see it now when you two look at each other. You just have to let your guard down a little and let her have a chance."

"Alice, I am not the same person I was, and I don't know if I can ever really trust her again." I said, rubbing the back of my neck with my hand.

"Well, since you obviously won't do this on your own, I am going to help." She said, smiling from ear to ear.

"No, Alice…" I started, before she held up a hand to stop me. I could tell by the look in my sister's eyes that this was an argument that I would win. Sometimes with Alice, it was just easier to give in.

We changed subjects quickly, thankfully, and enjoyed the rest of our meal together. Alice invited me out for drinks later on with her and her boyfriend, Jasper, and we parted ways after I graciously helped her load her bags into her car.

As I entered my apartment I heard my phone chirp announcing a new message.

_**Volturi, 9pm. – A**_

_**Sounds good, see you then. – E**_

_**Dress nice. – A**_

"Shit". I muttered after reading the last message. I had a feeling that perhaps Alice was putting her matchmaking skills to work. I sat down on my couch and flipped through the channels on the TV as I thought about how things would go later on. I imagined that I would walk in and surprisingly Isabella would be there, Alice would no doubt say that she just happened to run in to her and we would be deserted as Alice and Jasper disappear onto the dance floor. I rolled my eyes at the images floating in my head and decided to mess with Alice.

I picked up my phone from the coffee table and called Tanya. Tanya was Emmett's cousin who moved to Seattle a few years ago. Initially Emmett tried to set us up, but after a few awkward dates we came to the conclusion that we were better matched as friends and have been ever since. Tanya was excited to hear from me and happy to lend a hand in my scheming. She knew about my past with Isabella and was excited to give her a 'taste of her own medicine'.

At 8:30pm on the dot my doorbell rang. I opened it to reveal Tanya in all her glory. Bless her, she was really putting on a show. I smiled as I opened the door fully and gestured for her to come in. She strutted in and spun around for effect. I whistled appreciatively as I took her in from head to toe. Tanya had straightened her strawberry/blonde hair so that it fell to just below her shoulder blades, her charcoal smokey lids made her blue eyes pop, the barely there little black dress hugged her curvaceous body, and her legs looked extra long with the addition of black stiletto heels.

"Nice." I said before giving her a friendly hug.

"Thanks" she said, smiling widely, "I thought I would make this girl really sweat. Loose the tie though."

I took her advice and retreated back to my room to put my tie back in my closet. I quickly walked back to where Tanya stood in the kitchen as I adjusted my shirt. Looking down at myself it almost looked like we matched, which I gathered was Tanya's reasoning for me loosing the tie. I was decked out in black dress pants that clung to my lean legs and fell low on my hips along with a tightly tailored black button down dress shirt.

"Perfect." Tanya said as she leaned in and unbuttoned the top button of my shirt. She leaned back and looked at me carefully with her hand on her chin and her lips pursed. "Just one more thing." She said as she ran her hand through my hair causing it to stick up giving it a disheveled look.

As we entered Volturi, Tanya reminded me one last time to; 1. touch her, 2. refill her drink, and 3. dance with her often. She claimed that by doing those things I would drive Isabella crazy. I nodded my head in understanding before dropping my hand to the small of her back as I led her to the table that Alice and Jasper were sitting at. It was off to the side of the bar, close to the dance floor and as we approached Alice's mouth opened slightly in surprise. I smiled at her response and when we got to the table quickly introduced Tanya making sure to leave out any label like 'girlfriend'. I pulled out her chair just as Isabella approached the table. She was carrying two drinks and wore a similar expression to Alice.

"Oh, hey Bella, I didn't realize that you would be joining us." I said. "Tanya, this is Bella" I introduced the two and Tanya played her part perfectly.

"Hi Bella, it's nice to meet you." Tanya said, extending a hand for her to shake.

"Uh, yeah, nice to meet you too." Bella said, quickly glancing at Alice as she shook hands with Tanya.

"I'm going to go grab drinks," I said to Tanya. "You want your usual?"

"You know it." Tanya said with a smile.

"Sure thing." I said before turning to head to the bar.

I quickly returned carrying a gin and tonic for myself and a martini for Tanya.

"Here you go babe…extra dirty." I said with a wink as I placed the drink in front of Tanya. I could have sworn I heard Isabella say 'how appropriate' as I looked up catching her rolling her eyes. Isabella quickly drowned her drink and disappeared in search of another.

The night continued in a similar pattern. Tanya and I pretended to be together and earned quite a few murmurs and eye rolls from both Isabella and Alice. Jasper thankfully was not affected by our ruse and kept the conversation flowing easily. We all consumed our fair share of drinks and Tanya and I had danced several times throughout the night. It was approaching 2am when the band began playing a slow song and Tanya jumped up dragging me to the dance floor claiming she 'loved this song'. We danced close together and she pulled me closer as she spoke in my ear and ran her hand along the nape of my neck.

"Your doing great Edward," Tanya said as we swayed to the music. "Move your hand a little lower." I did as instructed and moved my hand to rest just above Tanya's ass. She laid her head on my chest and asked "is she looking?"

I looked over towards the table and Isabella's eyes instantly met mine. We stared for a moment before she looked away. Alice rubbed a hand on her shoulder and spoke softly to her to which she nodded.

When the song was over we returned to the table and Tanya announced she had to leave because she needed to be up early. I called her a cab and escorted her out.

"Thanks so much for tonight Tanya, I really appreciate it." I said giving her a big hug as the cab patiently waited.

"No problem Edward. It was priceless to see the look on her face every time you touched me." She giggled. She gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and got in the cab heading for home.

I returned to our table in the bar, but was met with just Jasper.

"Bathroom." He said to my questioning expression. "I know what you're doing by the way."

"What?" I said.

"It worked, just so you know. She was jealous the whole night."

"I don't know what you're…"

"Its cool man, you've been through a rough time with that girl, and she deserved a little payback. Even if Alice doesn't think so."

"Was it that obvious?" I asked.

"Only to me, you sure fooled the girls though. Bella got a little emotional, but that could have been the copious amounts of alcohol she consumed." He said with a laugh. "That girl is gonna be hurtin in the morning."

Alice and a red, watery eyed Isabella returned from the bathroom a few minutes later. I paid the tab at the bar and we headed out. Alice and Jasper called a cab and were headed to Jasper's place a few blocks away.

"Bella, do you want to come back with us?" Alice asked. "You could crash on the couch."

"Nah, I'm just going to head back to my parents." Bella said, fumbling with her purse in search of her keys.

"No way Bella, you've had way too much to drink tonight darling." Jasper said.

"Well, then I'll just head over to the Hilton and grab a room for the night. I wanted to do some shopping here in the city tomorrow anyway, so this will just save me a trip." Isabella said. "Do you want to share a cab?"

"We're headed downtown. Maybe you could share one with Edward though, he is headed uptown." Alice said with enthusiasm.

"Um, yeah, sure." I said.

"Great. Well, goodnight!" Alice squeaked as she quickly gave us each a kiss on the cheek and then pulled Jasper over and into the awaiting cab.

"The Hilton, huh?" I asked.

"Um, yeah." Isabella said, avoiding eye contact.

I opened the cab door for her and held her hand as she got in. To my surprise she didn't let go. I slid in next to her and we headed of towards the Hilton. She held my hand the entire way there and the ten minute ride felt like a lifetime. The warmth of her palm radiated searing my own and sending tingles into my chest. As much as I denied it, it felt right. We arrived at the Hilton and I paid the driver before exiting the cab. We stood on the sidewalk still hand in hand.

"It was good seeing you again tonight Bella." I said.

"You too Edward." My heart skipped a beat as my name flowed out of her mouth.

"Well…goodnight." I said. I cleared my throat and leaned in to place a kiss on her cheek.

"Goodnight." She sighed as my lips lingered on her cheek. I pulled away and headed off in the direction of my apartment a few blocks away. My chest burned and my stomach was in knots as I turned the corner. I could hear footsteps quickly approaching and turned around just in time as Isabella crashed into me wrapping her arms around me and kissing me passionately. I moaned loudly as her tongue made its way into my mouth and pulled her closer to me.

"Do you want to stay at my place?" I asked pulling away from her slightly.

"I'd love to."

**Sorry it took so long to update, life kind of got in the way. I promise not to take so long next time. Reviews always welcome!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer**** – ****I****own****nothing.**

It Will Rain

By: EJJCullen

The two blocks to my apartment felt like it took a lifetime. We stumbled into the elevator and quickly resumed our passionate make out session. Our lips separated only to exit the elevator, walk to my door and open it. After entering my apartment our lips once again connected and I backed her up against the door as my tongue slid languidly against hers. Our moans of pleasure echoed in my quiet apartment. We hadn't even bothered to turn the lights on.

Her arms held me securely to her as they locked around my shoulders. Her fingers playing in my hair, alternating between rough pulls and soft petting. My hands couldn't make up their mind, finally settling on one around the back of her neck and the other just above her ass holding her firmly to me. I was drunk off the drinks I consumed earlier and more so now by her scent. She smelled like strawberries and tasted like vanilla and cherries. I had imagined her scent and taste during the years that had separated us, but now actually smelling and tasting her it was clear that my imagination did not do her justice.

"God I've missed you." She said around my mouth. I moaned in response and pushed my hips into hers in an attempt to show her how much I missed her. I was rock hard and my cock was crying out desperate to be released from the confines of my pants. She kissed up my jaw towards my ear where she whispered into my ear. "Did you miss me too?"

"So much." I admitted as she licked the shell of my ear. I rocked my hips into her again desperate for the delicious friction it caused. She moaned and slowly lifted her right leg to wrap around my hip pulling me closer with her heel against the back of my leg. I quickly dragged my hand from the small of her back to behind her left leg lifting it to mirror her right. Her heels dug into my ass as she locked her ankles pulling me flush against her warm center.

"God you feel good." I panted as her kisses lowered to my neck where she alternated between licks and kisses. My hips continued to rock against her and I hissed each time my rock hard cock rubbed against her warmth. She was wearing a dark blue v-neck sweater, tight gray pants that accentuated her slim hips and those fucking _heels._ I moaned again as I felt them pull me closer once again. In that moment the description of 'come fuck me heels' was widely appropriate. I pictured myself slamming into her as she wore nothing but those heels and the delirious smile that my cock caused.

Isabella began unbuttoning my shirt running her hands along my chest as she exposed more skin. I pinned her against the wall with my hips as she peeled the shirt off of my arms. I immediately dropped my hands to her waist pulling her sweater off of her as well. Her bra was light blue and exposed her tiny pink nipples through the sheer lace. My mouth attacked her neck and shoulders licking and sucking my way towards her chest.

"Maybe we should go to your bedroom." Isabella moaned as I pulled a bra strap off her shoulder.

I paused for a moment taking in the situation before purging all thoughts, holding her to me and walking towards my bedroom. She opened the door and flicked on the lights for me as we entered. Just before the bed I deposited her on the ground to stand on her own two feet. I toed off my dress shoes and pulled off my socks dropping them in a pile of the floor. Isabella stepped out of one shoe before I stopped her telling her to keep them on. Her eyes twinkled with excitement and she pulled me back to her kissing me with renewed vigor.

My hands fingered the waist of her pants before diving to undo the button and zipper. I slowly pushed her shoulder back until she sat on the edge of the bed and then helped her scoot back towards the middle. She leaned back on her elbows as I pulled her pants off her hips and down her legs. I carefully maneuvered the pants off her without removing the heels and stood back admiring her as she lay propped up in nothing but her bra, matching panties and those _heels_. Her eyes were dark with lust as they lowered to my hips watching me unfasten my pants and push them off my legs joining the small pile of clothes on the side of my bed. She bit her lip as she admired me in my black boxer briefs, my attraction to her crystal clear from the bulge I was sporting. I climbed on the bed between her knees and attacked her mouth once again.

My hands resumed their earlier position pulling the straps of her bra down off her shoulders as I feasted on her neck. She pulled me flush against her and once again locked her ankles behind me as I rocked my hips against hers. Our breathing became ragged as I lowered my mouth to her nipple. Even through the lace they pebbled as I worshipped one with my mouth and rolled the other between my thumb and finger. While I pinched and bit her peaks she moaned louder and lifted her hips to meet mine.

I quickly dipped my other hand behind her and unclasped her bra before pulling it off her completely and threw it over my shoulder allowing my hands and mouth to have free range of her breasts. It was as if no time had separated us. I still knew every place that made her moan, that made her gasp for breath, that made her heart pound faster. I wondered if she still knew my body like I knew hers.

As I continued to devour her breasts my right hand slid down her soft stomach to the edge of her panties. I ran my fingers along the edge teasing her. She lifted her hips and panted in frustration each time I got closer to where she wanted me. I could smell her arousal, her unique scent and it made my cock to twitch in anticipation. After one last pass along her panty line I slid my hand beneath the fabric down to her wet warmth. I moaned as I realized that she was bare and bit down on her nipple once again earning a yelp of pleasure from her.

"You're so wet, is that because of me?" I asked as I slid my finger along her slit.

"Ugh, yes, Edward, only you can do that to me. Please, stop teasing me." She begged.

I dipped one finger into her and relished the whimper it caused her to utter. My fingers were quickly coated in her arousal and I pulled her panties down off her hips desperate for more room to maneuver. She lifted her hips letting me easily slide them off of her and they too joined the pile of clothes somewhere behind me. My fingers instantly returned to her as they danced along her slit. My thumb pressing on her clit and two fingers plunged into her. Once again my hands knew exactly where to go and how hard to press to elicit cries of pleasure from her.

I leaned back on my knees and watched her as I thrust my fingers in and out of her curling them slightly and rubbing the spot I knew would bring her over the edge. She was panting and rotating her hips as a pink hue colored her face and chest. She was so beautiful riding my fingers and it made me impossibly harder each time I saw my fingers coated in her juices. I knew she was close and pressed harder onto her clit to finally push her over the edge. She tightened around my fingers and threw her head back as her eyes closed and she called out my name. I pulled my fingers from her and brought them to my mouth, sucking off her juices.

She was absolutely breathtaking in her post climax bliss. Without missing a beat she sat up and looking into my eyes she pushed my boxers down my hips and began stroking me. Her hand was amazingly warm and it seemed she too hadn't forgotten when to add more pressure and where to rub me to make me pant with need. Her thumb slid across the head of my cock gathering the wetness that had leaked out I nearly came as she brought it to her mouth and licked it off. She pushed onto my shoulder making me fall back onto the bed and then scrambled down pulling off my boxers before her mouth was on me.

She took me as far as she could until the tip of my cock hit the back of her throat. She moaned around me and it zinged right down to my toes making me cry out in pleasure. I brought my hand to the back of her head and helped her find of rhythm as she bobbed up and down on me and stroked what wouldn't hit into her mouth. My fingers tightened in her hair as she sucked harder. I could feel my stomach tightening with my impeding climax.

"Your gonna make me cum." I panted. She looked up at me through her lashes and winked at me. Before I could take a breath she released me from her mouth and was straddling my hips running the tip of my cock along her dripping slit.

"Do you want me?" she asked in an all knowing tone. Dipping the tip of my cock into her entrance then pulling it out and continuing to run it up and down her again. It was torture.

"God yes." I begged.

She plunged down on my cock completely and we both cried out in unison. She was warm, wet, tight and home. I was exactly where I was meant to be. We didn't move for a moment, just enjoying the feeling of being united. I was completely sheathed in her and I could feel her pulsing around me on the verge of another orgasm. I gripped her hips and slowly lifted her up before lowering her back down flush against my hips once again. After a few rounds, she began riding me harder leaning back and placing her hands on my thighs opening her chest completely for me. They bounced lightly as she rode my cock. I leaned forward sucking on her nipple as she moaned loudly.

I held off as long as I could drunk off the feeling of her wrapped around me. Before long I dropped back down, grabbed her hips lifting her slightly and bucked into her hard and fast. I pounded into her loving the sounds of pleasure I was bringing to her.

"I'm almost there." She cried.

"Ugh, me too."

She began rotating her hips on each up thrust and I slid my hand down to where our bodies met and pinched her clit. The increased pressure threw her over the edge again and as I felt her clench around me and pulse I too fell over the edge. My stomach tightened and I came bucking frantically into her white stars burst in my eyes and my toes curled tightly as I spilled into her.

I pulled her to me, hugging her to my chest as we each gasped for breath and our hearts pounded in our chests. After a few moments, I rolled us to the side and pulled out of her groaning at the loss. I reached for the blanket at the foot of the bed, pulled the heels off of Isabella's feet tossing them to the floor, covered our naked bodies with the blanket and fell asleep in moments to the satisfied hums of Isabella.

**Hope that makes up for the delay in posts. What do you think?**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer – I own nothing.**

It Will Rain

By: EJJCullen

The steady pitter patter of rain pelting the glass window woke me from the most restful sleep in years. I could still smell Isabella in the air when my eyes finally opened, taking in the brightness of the morning. As my eyes slowly adjusted I stretched and yawned. I lay in the middle of my bed, with a sheet haphazardly covering my waist, _alone_.

My heart ached as the reality of the word sunk in. _Alone. _She hurt me again, and I let her in. I opened myself up to this the moment I kissed her back and asked her to come home with me. I had tried so hard to keep this from happening; I had shut myself off for so long, I don't think I could recover from this again.

Tossing the sheet aside I sat up and pulled on a pair of gray sleep pants, ran a hand through my hair and grabbed the pack of cigarettes from my night table. As I walked through the apartment towards the sliding glass doors I pulled a cigarette from the pack bringing it straight to my lips. With it hanging from my lips I looked around the kitchen for a lighter. Usually there were a few lying around, mostly outside on the balcony.

"Looking for this?"

I looked up to see Isabella walking in from the balcony holding the blue plastic lighter out to me. Her eyes looked unsure of herself and a slight pink blush began to stain her cheeks as I stood there dumbfounded.

"Uh, yeah." I said with a slight cough, and a head shake. Walking towards her I plucked the lighter from her fingers and continued on to the balcony.

I lit up the moment I was passed the glass doors, not even bothering to shut them behind me. I leaned against the white metal railing and let the smoke spread throughout my lungs. I closed my eyes letting the burn radiate through me and feeling the spray of the rain wet my face from where it snuck past the awning.

I gasped as I felt her warm arms wrap around my waist. Dropping my own hand to cover them as her cheek pressed against my back. I forgot how much smaller she was compared to me. We stayed like that as I finished my cigarette. After stubbing out the butt in the astray I turned in her arms and pulled her flush against me, my face diving into her hair and just breathing her in. My chin rubbed against her jaw tickling her with my stubble and earning a quiet giggle that melted my heart.

I pulled back slightly to look at her. Her hair was hanging in messy waves around her shoulders and she was dressed only in my old Fork's Senior Class t-shirt. It was a faded red and the fabric was thinning due to use and age, but she looked stunning in it. The shirt hung to about mid-thigh where her bare legs led to her bare feet. Her eyes found mine and I could have sworn they twinkled as she smiled hesitantly at me.

"I hope this is OK," she said pinching the shoulder of the t-shirt and lifting it slightly. "I didn't have anything else to wear."

"It's fine." I breathed, smiling to put her at ease.

"I made coffee," she said tilting her head back slightly towards the kitchen. I reluctantly let her go and followed her into the kitchen. I sat on a stool at the island as she retrieved the coffee pot and looked left to right trying to locate mugs.

"Over your left shoulder, top cabinet." I said, pointing her in the direction of the mugs.

She nodded slightly and then spun around to open the cabinet. As she stood on tip toes to reach the mugs the shirt had ridden up putting her naked ass on display.

"Jesus" I panted, dropping my hand to my now very hard cock to adjust myself.

"Sorry" she giggled, cheeks pink from embarrassment. She placed the mugs on the island and poured both cups before returning the pot to its rightful spot and stretching the shirt down further. After fetching both sugar and half and half from the fridge, I watched in awe as she prepared my coffee perfectly.

"Light and sweet, right?" she asked hesitantly as she pushed the mug towards me.

"Perfect." I said, referring to more than just the coffee.

We sipped our coffee quietly, steeling glances now and again with the island separating us. It was a little awkward to be honest. I wanted to ask her questions, maybe even make some plans, but mostly I needed to know what was going to happen now.

"So," she started, averting her eyes from mine as she wiped up an imaginary drop of coffee from the countertop. "I was thinking that maybe we could start over."

"Start over?" I said finally meeting her eyes. She looked so vulnerable, scared almost as to what my reaction might be.

"Yeah, you know, get to know each other." She said.

"Bella, I already know you."

"No, I mean get to know who we are now." She explained. "I don't know anything about you."

"OK," I breathed, not wanted to show how much this was affecting me. I wanted to get to know her again; I was willing to start over. "What do you have in mind?"

"Well, you know, like date I guess?" she said, once again looking at the countertop instead of me.

"Date?" I said, letting the words roll around in my head and liking the images it conjured up.

"Yeah, exclusively," she clarified, looking up to gauge my reaction.

I rubbed the back of my neck, carefully not showing any type of reaction. I wanted to make her sweat this out a bit, even though in my head I was shouting "Yes" since the word date was uttered.

"Well," I paused, watching as she seemed to shrink back with anticipated rejection. "It would have to be exclusive, and were going to have to tell Alice, which of course means my parents and I guess yours as well."

She was momentarily stunned by my response, but her breathtakingly beautiful smile broke out as she dashed around the island before throwing her arms around my neck and landing in my lap.

I groaned as her body came in contact with my still hard cock and unconsciously grabbed her hips grinding her into me again. This time the groan came from her as she trailed open mouthed kisses along my jaw and throat.

"I am so happy Edward, you make me so happy. I feel like I haven't truly smiled in years, and one night with you and my cheeks hurt from my constant smile." She said nuzzling my neck. "I swear, we are going to get it right this time."

I pulled her closer to me and just held her. Reveling in the utter bliss I felt knowing that we were going to give this another try. We wouldn't fail this time, I wasn't letting her out of my sight again.

"Move in with me." I said before the words aloud without even thinking.

"What?" she gasped pulling back to look me in the eyes.

I hesitated a moment before realizing that this is what I wanted. I wanted her back in my life, yeah we needed time to get to know each other again, but we hadn't changed THAT much. I wanted to see her, be with her, wake up with her and most definitely fall asleep with her.

"Move in with me." I said with more determination this time.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer – I own nothing.**

It Will Rain

By: EJJCullen

"Who do you have left on your list?" Alice asked as we dodged pedestrians on the crowded city streets. Between our combined bags and necessary outdoor wear we were taking up the majority of the sidewalk.

"I don't know, I guess just Mom." I said as we approached the corner and stopped to look around. "Let's just go to Le Creuset. When shopping for Mom anything culinary related is a good choice."

"Ok, I think there is down this street." Alice said heading off in the direction she had indicated. I followed two steps behind to avoid bumping bags together. Once we were in the store I gathered all of my bags into one hand and started perusing the latest cookware. I figured cast iron was the way to go and was picking up an orange baking dish when I felt Alice's hand dig into my coat pocket. I nearly dropped the dish in my hasty attempt to grab my shopping list from Alice's hand.

My list consisted of all the people I needed to purchase Christmas gifts for. Most were friends and family and of course my employees. My assistant Jessica keeps an annual runny tally in document form that she printed out for me last week when I approved the final list. Her eyebrow quirked slightly when I had her add one more name to the list before it was being spit out of the laser jet printer next to her desk. It was that name that was causing me to panic and nearly destroy the colorful display case of finely made cast iron and stoneware cookware.

"Why is Bella on your list?" she asked, whipping her head in my direction to read my reaction.

"Isn't she on yours?" I deflected, suddenly needing to finely inspect the green lasagna dish I picked up.

"Well...yeah...but I wasn't expecting you to put her on yours." Her eyes narrowed considerably as she inspected my face for any visual clues as to why Isabella's name was on my shopping list.

"I am guessing that the Swan's will be joining us for Christmas again this year" I said, looking up to meet her eyes. She nodded as I continued. "And if that's the case, I am betting Bella will be with them."

I held my breath as Alice slowly nodded accepting my excuse. She picked up a blue roasting pan and I breathed a sigh of relief thinking I had dodged a bullet.

"What were you thinking about getting her?" Alice asked, making me want to stomp my foot like a child and run in the opposite direction.

"I don't know." I lied, thinking of the light blue lace negligee I had order last night. I had explored the entire Victoria Secrets website in search for the perfect gift while Isabella busied herself in the kitchen creating a meal out of the random items I had left in the refrigerator. It was when she appeared in the doorway wearing a pink frilly apron stating that we needed to go grocery shopping that I decided lingerie was the way to go.

"I knew it!" Alice shouted pointing a finger at me and jumping up and down earning questioning glares from the other Le Creuset patrons.

"Knew what Alice?" I asked, knowing full well that my cheeks had warmed at the idea of Isabella in the blue negligee, and it was that slight blush that Alice had picked up on. Damn her hypersensitive attention to detail!

"So when did you two start dating again?" she asked, smiling from ear to ear. "She's been avoiding me since that night we all went out. Did something happen on the cab ride home?" She was wiggling her eyebrows in suggestion and her eyes were bright with happiness. I knew if I told her anything word would be spread throughout Forks before we even made it home tonight for dinner with my parents.

"It's a long story," I said shaking my head. I could tell she was hoping for more details, but something about the way I said it or the expression on my face forced her to bite her tongue. She smiled knowingly, dropped the subject, and held up the roasting pan claiming that matching set would be the perfect gift for Mom.

Two hours later I was riding the elevator up to my apartment heavily weighted down by the ridiculous amount of gifts I had purchased. I barely opened the door wide enough to walk through and drop the bags carefully on the dinning room table before rubbing my red, aching hangs. The apartment was quiet except for the sound of humming coming from my bedroom. Peeling my coat off as I walked down the hallway, I stopped and leaned against the bedroom door utterly fascinated by the sight before me.

Isabella was folding some laundry and putting it into the appropriate draws or hanging then in closet. She hummed happily while completing the tedious task. What made me smile was the fact that it was _our_ clothing that she was putting away. Both _hers_ and _mine_. She had moved in two days after my initial invite and has slowly seeped into every aspect of my home.

The subtle changes I would come home to each day warmed my heart. At first it was just a vase of some fresh flowers she had picked up at the street market. Then it was her shoes at the edge of my bed. It was when our toothbrushes shared the same holder that I realized we were truly living together. So consumed with happiness that we both shared about starting over, we chose to keep our living arrangements to ourselves. Neither one of us wanted our new found relationship public. She didn't want to come across as jumping from relationship to relationship, while I just needed time to adjust to being back in a relationship.

I walked into the bedroom and wrapped my arms around Isabella's waist dropping a kiss to the spot where her neck and shoulder meet. She gasped not having heard me approach, but sighed contentedly leaning back onto my chest.

"How was shopping?" she asked as she closed her eyes and my kisses ventured up and down her neck.

"Fine." I whispered in her ear as I breathed her in. She smelled so good, it was a scent I never wanted to be without again.

"How was Alice." She giggled knowingly.

"Uugh," I grunted dropping my forehead to her shoulder. "She definitely knows something is up, but oddly she didn't push."

"Yeah, she was been bugging me for days to get together for lunch, but I'm running out of excuses as to why I'm not in Forks." She said, pulling my arms closer around her waist.

"At least your parents didn't ask too many questions when you said you were moving in with a friend." I said, picking up my trail of kisses once again.

"True, but then again, they may think my friend is named Angela, not Edward." We both laughed as I spun her around and kissed her properly. I sat down on the bed and watched as she finished putting away the laundry. It made me smile that she knew where everything was located – it was as if she had lived here for years instead of just a handful of weeks.

"I have to head to my parents soon. Were having dinner tonight and then we have to get started on decorating the tree and the rest of the house, so I might just stay over night." I said, thinking about how tired I would be and not wanting to make the four hour drive back.

"Oh," Isabella said as she straightened out a picture frame on my dresser. "Christmas at the Cullen's was always quite the event." She sounded so far away, lost in the memories of the Christmas's in the past that she spent with my family.

"You could come you know." I said, wanting to do anything to erase the sadness in her voice. "I could say that I ran into you and invited you to come help decorate. Mom would love it, you guys always use to enjoy getting the house Chistmas-ized."

Her smile was immediate and radiated happiness as she turned to the closet saying "let me just grab my shoes."

**REVIEW Please! If you want more, you have to let me know.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer – I own nothing.**

It Will Rain

By: EJJCullen

The ride home to my parent's house was pleasant, she held my hand as it lay on the center console, and we kept a steady conversation about work and friends flowing as the hours ticked by. It was just after 7pm as we approached my parents house that my heart rate spiked and the reality of what we were going to face dawned on me.

I parked in my usual spot at the end of the driveway, behind the garage and turned to Isabella. As I turned the key, killing the engine, I readied myself to utter the words that were bouncing around in my head.

"What should we tell them?" she said, before I could express the words myself. I was slightly relieved to see her just as stressed as me. She was biting her bottom lip and peering through the windshield at the house. Her eyes gave away her worry and I gently squeezed her hand to assure her that she was not alone in this.

"I could say that I ran into you in town and invited you over. That makes sense, right?" I said trying to anticipate what everyone would say and think in response.

"Yeah," she breathed. "That'll work."

With that settled we exited the car and headed to the front door. The hustle and bustle inside the house could be heard as we navigated the walkway that was now line with red poinsettias.

"Hello!" I shouted as I pushed the front door open.

"Edward!" My mother squealed as she charged towards me from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a towel that was tucked into the front of her apron. Just a few feet from me I slid the door open further to reveal Isabella. My mother smoothly transitioned her shocked expression to one of joy as she enveloped Isabella in a hug telling her how happy she was to see her.

"Were having beef stew for dinner and then Alice has quite the schedule planned out for decorating." My mother explained, grabbing mine and Bella's coats. "I swear she has things down to the minute!" She laughed, but knowing Alice, it was truthful.

"I heard that!" Alice said as she turned the corner and joined us in the foyer. "Hi Bella, what a pleasant surprise!" Alice was looking back and forth between Bella and I and it didn't escape me that there was a twinkle of exhilaration in her eye.

"So, did you come with Edward from Seattle?" Alice asked Isabella, as she hung on every move, gesture, and facial expression.

"Oh, uh we sort of ran into each other down town here in Forks and he mentioned coming here to decorate for Christmas so I sort of invited myself." She said, pink with embarrassment. "I hope you don't mind Esme."

"Of course not dear." Mom said, pulling Isabella to her side and running her hand up and down her arm in a soothing manner.

"But I thought you were living in Seattle now, how come you're in Forks?" Alice asked. It was clear that she could smell a rat and was determined to find out what was going on.

"Alice," I warned, narrowing my eyes slightly at her, urging her to drop it.

"Oh, well, yeah." Isabella stuttered.

"Come on, let's go eat, I am absolutely famished!" Mom cut in saving Isabella the embarrassment of answering Alice's question.

Mom and Isabella headed off to the kitchen with arms wrapped around each other and words and giggles being exchanged, while Alice cornered me in the foyer with a determined look on her face.

"Let's hear it." She said, leaving no room for discussion.

"Hear what Alice?" I said with a rough sigh.

"I know that something is going on with you two. First at Thanksgiving, then that night at Volturi, I knew something for sure when she was on your gift list, but Edward, this is the icing on the cake. What is going on?" As I watched her tick off the things she had noticed, I realized that I couldn't hide this from Alice.

I pulled her into dad's office and proceeded to tell her an abridged version of what has been going since the Halloween party, leaving out the intimate details as well as the fact that Isabella had moved in with me. I explained the run ins, the apology letter, the guilt and attraction that would not go away, the desire to try again with the hopes of it working out this time.

Her eyes softened as I went on and on and eventually she just pulled me into a hug and squealed with delight claiming that she knew that this would happen and that we were 'destined' to be together. Reining our emotions in we headed to the dinning room to join mom, dad and Isabella for dinner. As I sat down next to Isabella, my mom gave me a knowing smile and looking over I saw dad shake his head from side to side while a smile lit up his face. Somehow I think they didn't buy the 'we just ran into each other' story.

Once the dishes were cleared and the wine flowed more freely we headed into the living room to decorate the tree. Each year my family would go a little over board and get a 20 foot tree to decorate. As a child I had always wanted a tree like at Isabella's house that was filled with hand made ornaments from school projects, and memorabilia from places they had visited, colorful blinking lights and gaudy tinsel. Our tree was a 'classic' design in the words of Esme Cullen. It was wrapped in white lights and burgundy and gold ribbon with glass ball ornaments in both burgundy and gold. It really was a sight to behold when it was finished and while hosting parties during the holiday season it monopolized the majority of conversations.

About an hour in, and what seems like an entire bottle of white wine to myself, I stood back to admire the handiwork of Mom, Alice and Isabella. My stomach did a flip that it hadn't done in years at the vision of these women interacting together happily, smiling and giggling as they strategically placed each ornament.

My dad's hand landing roughly on my shoulder brought me back to reality.

"It's good to have you two back." He said lowly as he squeezed my shoulder. "Will you guys be spending the night or heading back to the city?"

I felt my cheeks heat under my father's gaze knowing that he too was no fool to the relationship that was slowly becoming established between Isabella and I.

"It's up to her." I said jutting my chin out in the direction of Isabella.

My father smiled and as he walked back towards the tree to help steady my mother on the ladder, I could have sworn I heard him say '_it always is_'.

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	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer – I own nothing.**

It Will Rain

By: EJJCullen

I continued to sit, sipping my wine, watching Isabella place ornaments on the now full tree. There were just a handful of ornaments left in the box and Alice disappeared quietly a few minutes ago. My mom and dad were off to the side stacking empty boxes up on the coffee table and engaged in a private conversation exchanged in soft whispers.

"Well," my father said, breaking the silence in the room. "We are off to bed, I assume we will see you two in the morning for breakfast."

My eyes drifted to Isabella's. She met my anxious stare with a small smile that created tiny crinkles in the corner of her eyes before gently nodding her response to my parents. They slipped out of the room without another word leaving Isabella and I in utter silence in the living room that now glowed with the soft light from the tree.

Isabella continued to place the last few ornaments as I gazed at her noting the reflections of the burgundy and gold as they bounced off the shiny ornaments landing on her hair, shoulders and cheeks. She looked beautiful and I was stunned into silence as I placed my wine glass down on the table next to me and slowly rose to my feet. In a few steps I was behind her as she reached up to dangle an ornament on the last remaining empty spot.

"Thank you." I whispered into her ear as I ran my nose along the shell and dropped a kiss on her neck.

"For what?" She asked, tilting her head to the side, opening her neck further up to me.

"For being here and for blending so smoothly into my family. I forgot how easy it used to be." I said, thinking back on all the shared holidays and events where Isabella seamlessly became an honorary member of our family.

"No problem." She moaned quietly as her eyes slid shut and my mouth continued to explore her neck, shoulders and jaw line.

"Are you ready to call it a night?" I asked, pulling her close to me, wrapping my arms tightly around her middle and breathing her in.

"Yes, just give me a moment." She said, opening her eyes and staring at the tree in awe. "I tried to recreate a tree like this the Christmas after we broke up." I stared at her as she confessed this to me. "It didn't come close though." Her eyes were a little glassy as she dropped her eyes from the tree to the floor in front of her.

"I missed you so much Edward," she said turning in my arms to face me. "Every day I thought of you and wanted to just run home to you." I pulled her tightly into a hug. "I knew that you would take me back at first. My dad would beg me to come home to you when I would call. He told me how badly I hurt you. I stopped calling after a while because it hurt so much to know that I was doing that to you. I thought I was being brave, starting over, but really I was a big coward. I didn't know how to face you and then the time just slipped away. But when I saw you sitting in the bathroom at the Halloween party I felt like I couldn't catch my breath. You always did that to me, still do that to me." Her lips met mine as we kissed languidly sharing our hurt and our fears. We never talked about the future, I couldn't do that with her. I was too afraid to start laying out plans for fear that she would disappear again.

Breaking apart to catch our breath, foreheads resting together, our eyes met and she continued her confessions. "I love you, you know that, right?" I nodded, my eyes never leaving hers. "I promise never to leave again."

"Come on," I said, "let's head to bed." I towed her behind me as we climbed the stairs leading to my bedroom. She paused as we approached the guest bedroom and I tugged lightly on her hand pulling her towards my door.

"Are you sure?" she asked as I opened my door, gesturing for her to enter.

"Without a doubt." I said, meaning so much more than just her spending the night in my room.

We took our time brushing out teeth and readying for bed, I was in my sleep pants laying on my bed turning my cell phone off when she flicked the light out in the bathroom before hesitantly walking towards my bed. I lifted the covers allowing her to slip in next to me before wrapping my arms around her and pulling her to me. As we lay down, her cheek pressed into my bare chest, we both hummed in content slipping easily into sleep.

I woke hours later hearing her moan softly in her sleep. Glancing at the clock on my bedside table the red numerals reading shortly after 4am I turned on my side gently nudging Isabella onto her back. She moaned once more pulling in a deep breath as my eyes zeroed in on the sheer camisole she was wearing to sleep in that had slipped off her shoulder in sleep revealing the nipple of her right breast.

My hand was instantly drawn to it and as I gently squeezed, her chest rose pushing her more firmly in my hand and her eyes fluttered open. She smiled up at me before pushing up slightly to capture my lips. My right hand continued its exploration as my left fell to her waist pulling her flush against me. Her hips undulated into me urging me on until I dropped my mouth to her chest and nudged my thighs in between hers.

I slowly peeled the rest of her camisole down leaving her chest open to me as I brought my hips down to meet hers. Her moans increased as her breathing sped and each breathy exhale shot right down to my throbbing cock as it met her heated center.

"I need you." I whispered into the dark as I shifted from one breast to the other.

She moaned again as her heels dragged up the outsides of my legs until the reached the top of my sleep pants. Her feet squeezed my hips slightly before she dipped her toes into the waist band of my pants and slowly pulled them lower. I raised myself up onto my elbows allowing her to slip my pants off me completely. Completely bare, I sat up kneeling between her open legs and pulled her shorts from her lean legs. I ran my hands up her thighs to her hips and squeezed her gently as my thumb lowered towards her clit. Pressing her firmly with the pad of my thumb she gasped bringing her lower lip into her mouth, biting it hard, here eyes dancing with desire.

With one hand still on her hip I gently rolled her onto her stomach while her eyes never left mine. Spreading her thighs wider with my own I lowered myself to her dropping kisses to her shoulder. I grasped my cock, ran it teasingly slow along her wet and throbbing center before slowly easing myself into her, filling her completely. I stilled dropping my elbows to either side of her shoulders so I was not weighing completely on her. I slowly pulled back and pushed in deeply as she panted beneath me.

"I love the way you feel wrapped around me." I whispered into her ear. "I'll never tire of this feeling, being inside you." My hips continued to drive into her slowly, not wanting this feeling to end.

Her breathy moans increased as I continued to love her with my body and whisper into her ear just how good she made me feel. Soon she lifted her ass slightly allowing me to drive more deeply into her and the tell tale signs of her impeding orgasm appeared. Grabbing her hands in mine, twining our fingers together my movements sped up.

"Your almost there, aren't you?" I teased knowingly. "I can feel you tightening around me. God that feels amazing, you're going to make me cum so hard." I bit lightly into her shoulder as I thrust harder. I felt her fall over the edge as her walls clamped down onto me bringing me over as well. I came hard, panting heavily, her name falling from my lips.

As I leaned back slowly pulling myself off of her she tightened her grip on my fingers saying "wait, just stay like this for a minute."

I dropped some more kisses along her shoulder up to her ear as our breathing slowly returned to normal and I felt myself softening within her. Pulling out of her I rolled to my side pulling her with me, spooning her as we both drifted back off to sleep.

"Whoa!" I heard Alice shout as she pulled my bedroom door closed after barging in to find Isabella and I naked and tangled together fast asleep. My eyes burst open hearing her and catching her smirk as she pulled the door closed followed by a loud knock and a 'breakfast is ready' shout.

I gently shook Isabella waking her with promises of breakfast and coffee. We took our time dressing before finally making our way down to the kitchen for breakfast. My parents were already seated with Alice at the kitchen table. My father hid his smirk behind the morning paper while my mother grinned from ear to ear.

"Did you sleep well?" My mother asked as Isabella and I sat down across from a bouncing Alice.

"Uh, yeah, slept great." I said reaching for the stack of pancakes.

"So since you're sleeping together, does that mean your back together?" Alice burst out.

"Alice!" My mother and I shouted at the same time. As my father snickered, still hiding behind his newspaper.

"Were kind of living together." I announced.

"Edward!" Isabella groaned turning pink in the cheeks and dropping her head into her hands.

"About time." My mother said as she lifted a plate of bacon towards me. My father slowly lowered the newspaper revealing his smiling face and shot me a wink.

"Come on," He said, "We've known since Thanksgiving that things had changed between you two. We're just happy things are finally falling into place."

Isabella looked up at him carefully, and he smiled reassuringly at her. She smiled in return as I passed the bacon to her and we continued on with our breakfast happily.


	15. Chapter 15

**I apologize for the excessive delay, a new baby really gets in the way of writing!**

**Disclaimer – I own nothing.**

It Will Rain

By: EJJCullen

"You're joking with me, right?" I said, trying to keep the slight panic out of my voice.

"Edward, it's only for a few days, and it's for work. I promise, I will be back on Saturday morning." Isabella reassured.

"Ok," I huffed, "but can you call me when you get there…"

"And each night before I go to bed, and right before I board my plane back to you." She interrupted. I could practically hear her smile.

"Thanks babe." I said, feeling some stress leave my shoulders. "It's just, never mind. Have a safe trip."

"Thanks Edward. I'll call you as soon as I touch down." Isabella said. I hung the phone up on my desk and glanced at the clock on my computer, 2:15pm. Even though Isabella and I had announced our living arrangements to our parents, and had become closer over the past few weeks, this work trip to New York was like a punch to the stomach. I felt guilty for even thinking that she wouldn't return to me, but at the same time I expected her to return last time. I just needed to get through the next few days and then I could breathe again.

The rest of the day flew by between meetings, conference calls and a constant stream of emails that before I knew it, it was almost 8pm and I needed to get home. Grabbing my phone and jacket I left the office heading towards the parking deck where my car was waiting. Due to the hour, there was no traffic and I arrived home in record time. By the time I made it into the apartment, my exhaustion hit and after stripping out of my work clothes, I fell back in my bed and turned on the TV forgoing dinner completely.

I woke with a start to the buzzing sound of my phone beside me in bed. The TV was still on, I clearly had fallen asleep watching something that I couldn't even remember.

"Hello?" I mumbled, not bothering to look at the caller ID on my screen.

"Hey babe," she crooned.

"Hey," I breathed feeling my lips pull into a smile at the sound of her voice. "I guess you made it in ok?"

"Yeah, the flight wasn't too bad. Sorry I didn't call when we landed, I just figured I would wait until I got settled into the hotel and call when I was getting ready to go to sleep. Did I wake you?"

"That's ok, I passed out a while ago anyway." I said around a yawn. "So what do you have to do tomorrow that was so important that they had to fly you across the country?"

"It's an interview." She said shyly.

"What! I thought you said it was for work?" I sat up, suddenly wide awake.

"Well, yeah, it is for work. I am being interviewed for a promotion, they want me to lead a team for an author they just signed. It would mean I would be the lead editor on this campaign." She explained. "The only reason that I am out here for the interview is because New York is where the publisher is based out of. The position is still in Seattle Edward. I made sure of that before I even agreed to come out here."

"Really?" I asked, feeling like I could breathe again. "But what if they want you to stay out there?"

"Then I would tell them thanks, but no thanks. Edward, I don't want to be away from you. I really want this chance with you and I am not going to blow it this time." She said.

"Me too." I sighed. "I don't think I could recover if you left again."

"Not gonna happen Edward, I hate to break it to you, but your stuck with me." She joked, making me smile again.

We talked for a few more minutes about her day of interviews planned for tomorrow, and I told her that since Sunday was Christmas, that I only had a half day planned for tomorrow that consisted mostly of celebrating with my staff. I wished her luck and we said our good nights. I slept well that night dreaming of a future with Isabella.

*IWR*

Saturday morning I found myself once again parking my car in my parent's driveway. I grabbed my duffel bag from the trunk along with an arm load of gifts as I made my way to the front door. It had snowed lightly over night and the dusting of white on the ground reflected the twinkling white lights that decorated the house.

The house was bursting with energy the moment I opened the front door. Dad was sitting in the living room reading the newspaper and already drinking a glass of wine. Glancing down and my watch I wondered what could possibly make Dad indulge in a glass of wine at 11am. My thoughts were immediately interrupted by mumbled bickering coming from the kitchen. As I headed off in that direction, my father lowered his news paper and said "I wouldn't if I were you." before taking a large sip of wine.

I pushed the door open to the kitchen and stopped dead in my tracks with my jaw hanging open. I didn't know where to focus first…every countertop was covered in baking racks, holiday themed cookie tins, and an endless variety of cookies. The ground was littered with random puffs of flour, cracked egg shells filled the sink and dripped down the front, there were two industrial sized mixers whirling away on the center island and various cookie ingredients like chocolate chips, walnuts, vanilla extract and sugars of all kinds were strewn about haphazardly. Christmas music was blaring through a radio tucked under one of the cabinets and my mother and sister were racing around the kitchen wearing red and green aprons with their hair flopping into their faces which were covered in flour and cookie dough.

"Were never going to make it in time!" Alice yelled dramatically as my mother pulled a tray of golden brown cookies from the oven tossing it onto the kitchen table as she swapped it out for another tray of uncooked ones.

"It's ok Alice, we still have 45 minutes before we have to leave to go deliver the next batch." Mom sighed as she reset the kitchen timer and began placing the fresh cookies onto cooling racks.

"Edward!" Alice yelled, breaking me out of my stupor. "I am so glad you are here!" She barreled over to me with grabbing a box on her way and thrust it towards me. "These need to be delivered to these houses on Pine Street."

I dropped my duffel bag and carefully traded the gifts for the box filled with Christmas cookie tins while Alice shoved a list of addresses into my still open mouth.

"Oh! And don't forget this one!" She screeched grabbing a plastic container from the kitchen table. "It's for the Swan's…Charlie's favorite!"

Alice all but shoved me out of the kitchen yelling "go, go, go!" as my father once again lowered his newspaper wearing an 'I told you so' smirk.

Putting the box on the passenger seat of my Aston Martin and opened the list of addresses that each tin was to be delivered to. I figured I would hit all the houses saving the Swan's for last. I had yet to see Bella since her parents picked her up at the air port this morning. She had sent me a text letting me know she had arrived safely, but didn't want to call since her plane landed at 5am. I smiled remembering her use of 'this god awful time of the morning'.

One by one I delivered each tin to its recipient and dutifully checked them off the list as I went. The process took longer than expected, but I was delayed at each house with small talk from neighbors and excitement about the annual Cullen Christmas Party hosted by my parents later this evening. Almost an hour later I was making me final delivery to the Swan's.

I parked in the familiar spot that had been deemed mine ever since I was issued a drivers license, grabbed the plastic container of peanut butter chocolate chip cookies and rushed towards the front door of the Swan's house. It was awkward as I stood there and knocked on the door. Any other time I had been here in the past I had simply let myself in, but I realizing that this was the first time I had been back here since Isabella and I broke up years ago. I waited patiently as I heard movement on the other side of the door and looked up as Renee pulled the door open. She wore an uncomfortable smile as she greeted me that left me feeling nervous.

"Good morning Renee." I smiled handing her the plastic container. "Mom and Alice assigned me delivery duties this morning." She nodded knowingly taking the container from me with a laugh.

"I may have to hide these from Charlie or he will inhale the entire thing." She smiled genuinely. We stood on opposite sides of the door awkwardly before I finally asked if Bella was awake yet.

"Oh," she said looking towards the top of the stairs just behind her before she turned back towards me looking everywhere but at me. "I t-think she may still be sleeping." She stuttered.

"Do you mind if I just pop in to see her, I promise not to disturb her." I said, desperate to see Bella and ease the discomfort in my stomach as to why Renee was acting so shady.

"Um…well…you see…the thing is…" Renee began, just as the front door was pulled open fully to reveal Charlie in full uniform.

"Go on up." He said, giving me a nod, as Renee's glare practically burned a whole on the side of his face.

I brushed past the two of them as Charlie silenced Renee's questions of 'what are you doing?' with a stern look. I took the stairs two at a time in my desperation and rounded the corner leading to Isabella's room. The hallway was silent and there were no sounds coming from Isabella's room only adding to my anxiety. Taking a deep breath I opened the door and slowly stepped in.

My lungs burned with the need for air as I stood hand still wrapped around the door knob at the most beautiful sight I had ever seen. Bella was standing in front of her full length mirror with her back to me as she looked at herself wearing a gorgeous white wedding gown.

My eyes slowly took in the sight of her. The corset-like back fitted to her slim waist before flaring slightly into a ruched asymmetrical skirt that puddled at the bottom. Her reflection in the mirror allowed me to take in the beautiful crystal sash along her narrow waist and the sweetheart bodice that showcased her perfect cleavage. I met her eyes in the mirror which were red rimmed and her cheeks quickly flamed with embarrassment at being caught, but her eyes never left mine as I slowly stepped into her bedroom closing the gap between us until I was close enough feel her take in a deep breath. I carefully pulled her long hair to the side exposing her neck to me as I dropped an open mouth kiss to where her neck meets her shoulders. Her breath caught, she shivered at the sensation of my lips tasting her skin, and her eyes closed as I wrapped my arm around her waist pulling her flush to me.

"Your so beautiful." I said, trailing kisses along her shoulder.

"I never go to wear it." She said sheepishly, as her head fell back onto my shoulder.

I gave her one final kiss before I leaned towards her bed and grabbed the shoe box as I kneeled down lifting each foot as I slowly slid on the sparkling silver heels. Her smile was breathtaking as I stood back up grasping her hand in mine. I swear her eyes twinkled as I stood beside her wearing my fitted white dress shirt, black tie, black dress pants and shoes intended for the party later this evening.

Without another thought I pulled her towards the bedroom door. She breathlessly kept pace with me as we ran down the stairs passed her awestruck parents and out towards my car. I valiantly opened the door for her as she carefully sat down before I closed it and ran towards the diver's side. Neither of us said a word as I sped down the street towards the center of town. Our silent exchange and matching smiles were fully in place as I parked haphazardly in front of the Fork's Municipal complex. 

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><p><strong>Leave me some words of encouragement to continue...<strong>


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer – I own nothing.**

It Will Rain

By: EJJCullen

The party was in full swing as we pulled up the driveway to my parent's house. Waving off the valet driver, hired for tonight's festivities as he stepped towards my car, I approached the garage I pulled into my customary spot and shifted into park and letting the engine idle. Inside the car we sat listening to the sounds of delight that made their way into our little bubble. Laughter and upbeat Christmas music lingered around us as we reached for each others hand. With a slight squeeze to her hand I brought it to my lips for an encouraging kiss.

Her eyes met mine still sparkling with the same excitement that had been there since this afternoon. I opened my door quickly making my way around to open Bella's offering her my left hand. I grimaced slightly as she squeezed my hand in hers causing the gauze and tape around my third finger to dig into the sensitive skin.

"Sorry." She whispered sheepishly before standing on tip toes to place a kiss on my cheek. I pulled her closer for a hug as I played with the ribbons that lay on her waist from the corset top. Reluctantly I released her as the chill in the air caused her to shiver. We walked hand in hand towards the front door, her skirt bunched in her free hand to keep the snow dusted walkway from staining her gown.

Every single light was on in the house casting yellow rectangles of light in our path. As we stepped up the stairs I heard my sister's voice ring out.

"There they are!"

Before our feet could touch the Christmas themed welcome mat placed lovingly in front of the door it was pulled open to reveal both sets of our parents. We stood still unsure of how to proceed. Charlie and my dad wore similar knowing smirks, Renee bore a bewildered expression and my mother's was one of displeasure.

"You almost missed the champagne toast!" My mom began, pulling Bella into a tight hold. "But I guess there is more to celebrate than just the holiday season." She said, as her watery eyes met mine and her disappointment morphed into a blindingly bright smile.

I closed the door behind me and took Bella's hand in mine as we entered the party and were handed champagne flutes filled with golden bubbles by my sister.

"To the new Mr. and Mrs. Cullen!" my sister cheered lifting her glass with a smile so bright I couldn't help but smile too. "I can't believe I wasn't invited." She hissed towards us. "Did you even have a ring to give your new bride?"

Bella and I exchanged smirks as we pulled off our gauze and tape covered fingers to reveal matching infinity symbols forever marking our ring fingers on our left hands.

"It's more permanent than a ring Alice." Bella said as Alice inspected the new tattoo.

"Well, at least we can have a party to celebrate." Alice sighed looking around the house that was filled with our family and friends. "But what about a honeymoon?"

"That" Charlie said resting a heavy hand on my shoulder and handing Bella and envelop. "I have covered."

Bella opened the envelope and smiled before whispering "thanks daddy" wrapping her arms around him.

"I told you just to give her some time _son_." He said to me as he broke from Bella's hold only to pull me into a hug. "I knew she would come back to you." He said just loud enough for only me to hear. I nodded my head while my eyes never left my new bride.

Congratulatory hugs, handshakes and pats on the back were given to us as we made our way around the party. Each person had kind words to say to us as we made our way back to our parents. Our mom's cornered us laying on the guilt pretty thick about having missed the wedding forcing us to promise a 'real' ceremony when we return from our Hawaiian getaway that Charlie had booked the moment we left the house earlier. He claimed he 'just had a feeling' and went down to the travel agent in town to arrange for a two week stay on the island of Maui.

Mom, Alice and Renee immediately started making lists of things that would need to be done in order to have a proper ceremony as well as the people who would need to be contacted.

"I'll go get a pen and paper!" Mom said, rushing off in the direction of my dad's office.

"Are you just going to let her do this?" I asked my dad with a raised eyebrow.

"It's up to her." He said handing me an iced cold green bottle of beer.

"_It always is_." I muttered, meeting Bella's sparkling eyes across the room.

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><p><strong>The End.<strong>

**An Epiolgue perhaps? Leave me some love.**


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